The Vermont Legislature passed Act 137 of 2020 to distribute Coronavirus Relief Funds to various entities in Vermont. Sections 7 - 10 appropriate $13 million to Vermont units of local government to reimburse eligible COVID-19 expenses, and $2 million to assist municipalities in digitizing land records for online public access. The Agency of Administration, including the Vermont Department of Taxes, will be responsible for distributing the funds. Please familiarize yourself with the opportunities and guidelines on our webpage:

https://tax.vermont.gov/coronavirus/municipal-grants

The first guidance as required under Act 137 is now available, regarding the Digitization of Land Records.

$2 million will be issued to qualifying municipalities to reimburse certain costs associated with making digital copies of land records available online for public access through a secure portal. The grants are being issued to provide economic support to town offices which have been impacted by increased customer demand due to the COVID-19 public health emergency but are otherwise unable to successfully allow those customers to search land records. The funds can be used both to pay necessary expenditures that qualifying municipalities face and costs directly associated to digitizing land records.

The actual application is still under development and should be available soon. However, because of the federally mandated deadlines for CRF eligibility, applicants intending to use a vendor for digitization are strongly encouraged to immediately begin their procurement process.

Visit https://tax.vermont.gov/coronavirus/municipal-grants for more information, and contact Jill Remick at [log in to unmask] with any questions.

Jill Remick | Director

Property Valuation and Review Division | Vermont Department of Taxes

(802) 828-6639 | 133 State Street | Montpelier, VT 05633-1401 | tax.vermont.gov

This email may contain confidential tax information. The information is intended only for use by the individual or entity addressee. If you are not the intended recipient, you are prohibited from any disclosure, copying, distribution or the taking of any action in reliance on the contents of this information, and any such action would subject you to civil and/or criminal prosecution under state and Federal confidentiality laws. If you received this email in error, immediately delete this email and contact us at 802-828-6639 or [log in to unmask] for further instructions.