Money isn't raining from the sky, but we'd be forgiven for thinking so after a glance at local government balance sheets.
That's because governments – from the smallest townships and villages to the biggest states – find their coffers bursting with deposits from the federal government by way of the American Rescue Plan Act. And there are more, equally large, payments on the way this year.
They come at an interesting time for many governments, especially those in the Grand Traverse region. The payments were aimed at defraying revenue loss and increased costs many government officials anticipated would arrive as the pandemic ground its way through a second year.
But in many locales, ours included, costs of operating local governments didn't spike, and property tax collections, buoyed by an unexpected housing boom, continued to rise.
Sure, many are budgeting for rising wages and price inflation that has become a factor in everything from vehicle purchases to infrastructure projects. Yet, government balance sheets are in little or no danger of being dragged into the red as many anticipated at the outset of the pandemic.
What does that have to do with the ARPA checks now deposited in local and state government accounts?
Well, for one, it means most of that cash really isn't needed to plug budgetary holes and keep normal government services afloat.
Couple that with some pretty substantial reductions in the number of strings attached to those relief dollars (the feds initially outlined some pretty specific spending categories for the money but have since loosened their grasp) and our government overseers are sitting on a game-changing fiscal moment.
When was the last time any local government in Michigan, like Grand Traverse County found itself graced with a windfall of somewhat unencumbered cash -- more than $18 million spread across two payments -- equal to nearly half its annual budget?
Not all cash infusions are quite so profound, but in most places they're nothing to sneeze at when compared to each government's annual budget.
Let's be honest with ourselves here, too. Governments aren't exactly institutions that reward or even encourage outside-the-box thinking. In fact, some have already hired consultants to tell them how to spend their ARPA money, or at least how to put together a process for making those spending decisions.
That's why we bring a twofold message.
First, local governments need to look at the infusions in two ways – both as taxpayer money to be spent through transparent processes and as a potential game-changing investment for their communities.
Tens of millions of dollars that gushed into the Grand Traverse region could go a long way toward completing some moonshot projects, or it could be dithered away on parking lot stripes and racks of office supplies.
Second, taxpayers need to engage their local government officials to ensure the money is spent responsibly and for the greatest impact. They need to be ready to head off shenanigans like elected officials lining their own pockets with pandemic bonuses.
Temptation is a powerful force, especially when we're talking about government checks with strings of zeros.
We've already seen a few instances of bad behavior reversed simply by dragging government officials' spending decisions into the spotlight.
Many communities now are contemplating once-in-a-generation opportunities to invest in ways that improve services or infrastructure, address stubborn social or fiscal problems and construct new amenities.
Let's all do our part to make sure those dollars count.
-- Traverse City Record-Eagle, Jan. 23