Vermont's units of local government, including counties, cities, towns, and various service districts, can now apply for reimbursement of COVID-19 eligible expenses through a grant program created under Act 137 of 2020.

 

• The Local Government Expense Reimbursement Grant (LGER) grant application is now live on the Tax Department website at: https://tax.vermont.gov/coronavirus/municipal-grants.

 

• The deadline for grant application submissions is September 4, 2020.

 

• To be eligible for reimbursement, expenses must be incurred between March 1, 2020 and December 30, 2020.

 

• Units of local government can contact their Regional Planning Commissions for free assistance to identify and document eligible COVID-19 expenses. For more information on the Regional Planning Commission visit https://www.vapda.org.

 

Background

The Vermont Legislature has appropriated $13 million of Coronavirus Relief Funds to various entities in Vermont to assist with COVID-19 expenses such as hazard pay, supplies and equipment, sanitation, and facilities alterations not already covered by insurance or Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) funding. The Agency of Administration, through the Vermont Department of Taxes, is responsible for distributing the grant funds.

 

Units of local government are defined in Act 137 as:

• Vermont counties
• Vermont cities, towns, unorganized towns and gores, unified towns and gores of Essex County
• Incorporated villages
• Fire districts
• Consolidated water districts,
• Consolidated sewer districts
• Solid waste management districts

 

“Many of Vermont’s cities and towns have experienced unexpected costs this year from the COVID-19 pandemic. Local officials are taking a number of steps to keep us all safe and healthy and this important work comes with a cost,” said Secretary of Administration Susanne Young. “We appreciate the partnership with municipal officials, the Vermont Legislature, the Vermont League of Cities and Towns, and the regional planning commissions that helped launch this program to ensure municipalities have access to resources they need to continue addressing the local needs of Vermonters.”

 

For More Information

Additional guidance on the LGER grant is available here:

 

• Regional Planning Commissions: https://www.vapda.org

 

• Questions can be emailed to: [log in to unmask]

 

• The “Funding through Municipal Grants” webpage will be updated frequently:

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

(Guidance for the Coronavirus Municipal Records Digitization Grant application, which went live on July 31, 2020, can also be found at that website.)