Chaffee County will be receiving $1.6 million in disbursements from the federal Local Assistance and Tribal Consistency Fund (LATCF).
These funds are a portion of the $2 billion in appropriations made to LATCF through the 2021 American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) to provide general support for eligible counties and Tribal governments.
Chaffee County is one of 2,086 local government entities considered eligible for funding through this program. A total of $71 million was allocated to 57 Colorado counties.
The amount of funding allocated to Chaffee County was determined by Treasury methodology that accounts for the amount of federal lands within our boundaries, local economic conditions, poverty rates, household income, land values, and unemployment rates over the past 20 years. The County will receive funds in two installations of $804,325–one in late 2022 and the second in early 2023.
The LATCF support is intended to provide counties flexible funds to help address financial burdens and budget disruptions due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The County is permitted to use LATCF funds to cover any cost incurred on or after March 15, 2021, for any governmental purpose other than a lobbying activity, including general operations and essential services, capital projects, and infrastructure needs.
Chaffee County Administration and Board of County Commissioners have not yet made a final determination on planned use of the LATCF funding. Early discussions have evaluated leveraging the funds to support construction costs for the County’s major capital projects in plan for 2023, including the new North-End Public Safety Complex outside of Buena Vista and County Fairgrounds upgrades.
Commissioner Keith Baker shared, “We are grateful to have these funds coming into Chaffee. As a county with over 80% non-taxable public lands in our jurisdiction, our local revenue generation is limited here. Programs like the LATCF funding bolster our ability to make substantial investments back into our community.”
