GREAT FALLS — We now know what the city of Great Falls is considering how to use its share of money from the federal "American Rescue Plan."
The $1.9 billion COVID relief plan from the federal government was passed by the U.S. Senate on Saturday and could pass the U.S. House and then signed into law by President Joe Biden this week.
Great Falls Mayor Bob Kelly was part of a conference call with U.S. Senator Jon Tester of Montana on Tuesday to discuss the American Rescue Plan and the impact it is expected to have.
The amount of money that Great Falls might receive has not yet been determined. Kelly said the city is considering spending money on public transportation, using communication equipment to make city meetings more transparent, and to enhance public safety.
"We found some weaknesses in our processes over the past couple of months. We want to make sure we can beef up their response so that if something like this is ongoing for longer than anticipated we'll be able to keep that response that we were able to have during the initial phase of this pandemic,” Kelly said.
Exactly how the money will be spent is still being discussed.
