As deadline looms, hundreds of Minnesota townships could lose out on American Rescue Plan dollars

Jeff Krueger fears that, come Monday, hundreds of Minnesota townships will leave money on the table.

The state's 1,781 townships qualify for roughly $100 per resident from the American Rescue Plan Act. That money could help them get more broadband service, improve roads or shift township accounting from ledger paper to laptops, said Krueger, executive director of the Minnesota Association of Townships.

But with a Monday application deadline fast approaching, fewer than 60% of Minnesota's townships have requested their share of the funds.

"It's a shame, every town can use this," said Perch Lake Town Clerk Lora Eames, whose community near Cloquet is contemplating putting the dollars toward grants, road repairs and video conferencing equipment. "I think our citizens would just be outraged if we didn't use the money."

The American Rescue Plan designated nearly $377 million for local governments in Minnesota with populations of less than 50,000 residents. The money can be used for a range of needs, from replacing revenue that was lost during the pandemic to upgrading water and sewer systems.

For more than 600 of the state's townships — those with fewer than 200 residents — this is their first chance to directly receive federal assistance during the pandemic. They did not get dollars through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act last year.

But many of those same small towns could miss out again, despite being eligible this time around. If a community doesn't apply to receive American Rescue Plan dollars, Krueger said, Treasury Department officials told him that Minnesota must redistribute that money to other small local government units.

"We have partnered with local government organizations to reach as many public officials as possible with presentations at local government meetings, direct mail, e-mail newsletters, and an open e-mail inbox for one-on-one conversations. We urge local governments to request their funds before the Monday deadline," MMB spokeswoman Ellen Anderson said in a statement.

Nonetheless, Minnesota's applications are lagging behind those of some other states. A spokeswoman for the Michigan Townships Assocation said that at least 98% of its 1,240 townships had applied to get the federal dollars. Wisconsin Towns Association Executive Director Mike Koles said his state's deadline to apply is still a few weeks away and all but eight of its 1,245 towns have applied.

The average population of townships in Minnesota is a little over 500, Krueger noted, while Koles estimated the average size in Wisconsin is closer to 1,100.

Townships' excuses for not applying for the funds vary, Krueger said. He talked to a town official a couple of days ago who did not know about the American Rescue Plan, which was signed into law in March.

Many small communities depend on volunteers for their town's administration, some of whom are farmers who are currently working around the clock in their fields.

Then there's a set of people who see the dollars as a giveaway program and are too proud to accept what they see as a handout, he said.

Denmark Township, which is north of Hastings in Washington County, is not among those groups. Town Board Chair Kathy Higgins said they applied months ago for their chunk of the dollars. She said their $220,000 allocation amounts to a major financial boost for the community.

"Oh my goodness, yes. We're a town, we don't have all kinds of resources," she said.

Like many towns, the bulk of Denmark's money goes to roads, bridges and zoning, Higgins said. They haven't saved much for updating the town hall, so the federal funds could allow them to add touchless sinks and toilets and update audio visual equipment. But she said they're still in the initial stages of contemplating how to spend the money.

Denmark Township is not alone in considering town hall updates. Krueger, a supervisor of New Market Township in Scott County, said they are looking at heating, ventilation and air conditioning system updates for their town hall.