New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy announced $60 million in aid for counties and municipalities affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Coronavirus Relief Fund (CRF) is going to counties and municipalities that were excluded from the federal government’s CRF allocation plan. The New Jersey state government claims that the CRF will help address extra costs in public health, public safety, overtime, and supplies.
The New Jersey Department of Human Services (DHS) is supporting the County Boards of Social Services with up to $10 million from the CRF. This money is meant to cover COVID related expenses.
Here is a list of New Jersey counties and the amount of funds they will be receiving from the CRF.
- Atlantic: $6,318,936
- Burlington: $8,187,352
- Cape May: $1,305,162
- Cumberland: $6,931,225
- Gloucester: $4,858,821
- Hunterdon: $948,183
- Mercer: $12,593,962
- Morris: $8,415,816
- Salem: $1,538,872
- Somerset: $6,367,176
- Sussex: $1,319,462
- Warren: $1,755,034
The allocation of funds was determined by the Local Government Emergency Fund formula, which looks at the COVID-19 infection rates, shortage of funds, the Municipal Revitalization Index (MRI), and the population of the county or municipality.
While the Governor and other New Jersey congressmen have expressed pride and joy over the CRF, many New Jersey residents whose counties were not included in the CRF are confused over what the celebrations are about.
Rania Rizvi, a Rutgers University student, says that she finds it strange that Middlesex County was not included in the list.
“Even though it can be said that Middlesex is a lot more affluent than other counties, there are still a lot of people here that are not privileged,” Rizvi said. “There’s a huge homeless problem right in New Brunswick.”
Rizvi also expressed confusion about why Mercer County is receiving more than $12 million in funds.
“West Windsor, another affluent town, is in Mercer County. Do they really need $12 million?” Rizvi said. “I understand allocating funds for Trenton, but $12 million? It feels like overkill.”
Others noted that many of the counties who did receive funds are South Jersey counties, which are predominantly anti-COVID policies.
Sneha Santosh, a Somerset County native and college sophomore, says that she thinks allocating so much money to anti-COVID policy counties is unfair.
“To be honest, the only reason Murphy is spending any time providing money to those counties is because they are a main draw of tourism in New Jersey,” Santosh said. “Middlesex being completely ignored is terrible because the people in this county actually really need the help, and they will actually follow through with the money.”
Santosh says she thinks the counties with a lack of COVID restrictions will do nothing with the money they are receiving.
“Those counties have gotten funding because of their status as New Jersey cash counties,” Santosh said. “Murphy is sacrificing lives in order for New Jersey to have acceptable revenue this year.”
Some noticed how Murphy’s CRF decision, which was announced Oct. 14, 2021, was very close to the gubernatorial election, which Murphy barely won.
Daniela Tacuri, a Rutgers University student, says it is obvious that Murphy wanted to win red counties over with the CRF.
“I definitely think he was trying to paint himself in a good light in the Republican counties,” Tacuri said. “Otherwise, it would make no sense to send millions of dollars over to places where they do not even care about COVID.”
Tacuri says there should be more focus on the people who are following the rules.
“Everyone at Rutgers and Middlesex has been wearing masks and getting vaccinated,” Tacuri said. “Why don’t we start by helping the people here?”
No comments:
Post a Comment