The city of Seymour is accepting applications for funding from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 fund.

In 2021, the city was allocated $4.2 million in federal aid to address the local impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Financial requests must be based on the period from Jan. 1, 2020, to March 3, 2021, and must fit into one of the following four criteria as approved by the Seymour City Council in April 2021.

• To respond to the public health emergency with respect to COVID-19 or its negative economic impacts, including assistance to households, small businesses and nonprofits or aid-impacted industries such as tourism, travel and hospitality.
• To respond to workers performing essential work during the COVID-19 public health emergency by providing premium pay to eligible workers of the metropolitan city, nonentitlement unit of local government or county that are performing such essential work or by providing grants to eligible employers that have eligible workers or who perform essential work.
• For the provision of government services to the extent of the reduction in revenue of such metropolitan city, nonentitlement unit of local government or county due to the COVID-19 public health emergency relative to revenues collected in the most recent full fiscal year of the metropolitan city, nonentitlement unit of local government or county prior to the emergency.
• Make necessary investments in water, sewer or broadband infrastructure.

Individuals or entities applying must provide required financial documents from 2019, 2020 and 2021. The deadline to apply for funds is Sept. 1. Requests must include the date of the request, who is requesting the funds, the amount requested and a description of why the funds are being requested and what they will be used for.

Applications must be approved by the council’s finance committee, followed by a public hearing during a council meeting. The council must then introduce and approve an ordinance authorizing the distribution of funds. Ordinances take two readings.

Requests can be emailed to the mayor’s office at [email protected] or dropped off or mailed to Mayor’s Office, Seymour City Hall, 301-309 N. Chestnut. St., Seymour IN 47274.

Anyone with questions about the request process may contact the mayor’s office at 812-523-5880 or email [email protected].