Colorado governments will receive their first round of state and local aid through the American Rescue plan this week.
On Monday, the Treasury Department released the amounts and the rules around how the funds can be used.
“With this funding, communities hit hard by COVID-19 will able to return to a semblance of normalcy; they’ll be able to rehire teachers, firefighters and other essential workers – and to help small businesses reopen safely,” Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in a statement.
Colorado will be getting $3.8 billion in state aid and $265 million in non-entitlement funding. Nineteen of the state’s metro areas will also receive direct aid. The Denver metro area will get $166 million, Fort Collins will get $28 million, Grand Junction $10.4 million, Greeley $20.9 million and Colorado Springs will receive $76 million.
Other metro areas getting direct funds include Arvada, Aurora, Bouder, Broomfield, Castle Rock, Centennial, Commerce City, Lakewood, Longmont, Loveland, Parker, Pueblo, Thornton and Westminster.
All 64 Colorado counties will also receive direct aid, ranging from $159,275 for Hinsdale and $399,160 for Dolores County to $63 million for Weld and $127.5 million for Arapahoe County.
The funds are intended to support COVID-19 response efforts to bring the pandemic under control, replace lost revenue to help keep up vital services and jobs, support economic stabilization for businesses and households, aid communities and populations hit hardest by the crisis, and invest in infrastructure — specifically water, sewer and broadband.
The money cannot be used to offset declining tax revenue or for pension funds.
State leaders held a listening tour earlier this year to collect ideas on how to spend the money coming from the American Rescue Plan.
Lawmakers from both parties have already outlined broad priorities, like infrastructure and education. Now that they have more precise dollar amounts, the plan is to make some spending decisions during the current legislative session. But lawmakers may still need to return for a special session in the fall to finalize their plans, or they could delay their final allocation decisions to next January when they’re back at the Capitol.
Here are county-level breakdowns for the federal money:
| County | Amount of aid | County | Amount of aid | County | Amount of aid |
| Adams | $100,502,964 | Fremont | $9,292,165 | Morgan | $5,646,118 |
| Alamosa | $3,153,070 | Garfield | $11,666,145 | Otero | $3,550,287 |
| Arapahoe | $127,534,910 | Gilpin | $1,212,630 | Ouray | $961,868 |
| Archuleta | $2,724,969 | Grand | $3,056,145 | Park | $3,660,420 |
| Baca | $695,567 | Gunnison | $3,391,789 | Phillips | $828,426 |
| Bent | $1,083,267 | Hinsdale | $159,275 | Pitkin | $3,451,031 |
| Boulder | $63,359,749 | Huerfano | $1,339,661 | Prowers | $2,364,268 |
| Broomfield | $13,687,000 | Jackson | $270,380 | Pueblo | $32,714,388 |
| Chaffee | $3,953,914 | Jefferson | $113,217,801 | Rio Blanco | $1,228,363 |
| Cheyenne | $355,650 | Kiowa | $273,099 | Rio Grande | $2,188,483 |
| Clear Creek | $1,884,111 | Kit Carson | $1,378,509 | Routt | $4,979,881 |
| Conejos | $1,593,725 | La Plata | $10,920,270 | Saguache | $1,325,482 |
| Costilla | $755,004 | Lake | $1,578,574 | San Juan | $141,405 |
| Crowley | $1,177,278 | Larimer | $69,323,447 | San Miguel | $1,588,675 |
| Custer | $984,400 | Las Animas | $2,817,620 | Sedgwick | $436,648 |
| Delta | $6,052,853 | Lincoln | $1,107,352 | Summit | $6,023,523 |
| Denver | $141,252,212 | Logan | $4,352,686 | Teller | $4,931,321 |
| Dolores | $399,160 | Mesa | $29,953,485 | Washington | $953,321 |
| Douglas | $68,207,548 | Mineral | $149,369 | Weld | $63,028,767 |
| Eagle | $10,707,773 | Moffat | $2,580,067 | Yuma | $1,946,073 |
| El Paso | $139,929,837 | Montezuma | $5,085,741 | ||
| Elbert | $5,191,795 | Montrose | $8,305,240 |
CPR’s Bente Birkeland contributed to this story
