Porcupine Soup is reporting the American Rescue Plan Act will distribute more than $1 trillion to communities recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic and Greene County’s share will be approximately $9.15 million. County officials are now in the process of deciding how to spend the federal stimulus funds. “The economic shut-down of 2020 caught many counties off-guard,” said Patrick Linger, chair of the Greene County Legislature. “They simply weren’t prepared and ended up with budget deficits and service cutbacks. However, Greene County’s fiscal discipline and planning prevented this from happening to us...,” he said. "...The overwhelming fact is that Greene County has never been more fiscally sound." Since the county had its fiscal house in order and did not suffer what the federal legislation defines as significant revenue loss to the county budget, the county has restrictions and must comply with specific rules on how it can use the funds, Linger said. “Our real challenge,” said County Administrator Shaun Groden, “is to apply as much of this one-time federal funding to building a better future for our residents and businesses...” Groden said the county's initial focus will likely include eligible infrastructure projects and building out broadband connectivity in its rural communities. Read the full story at porcupine soup [dot] com.