The latest $1.9 trillion federal COVID-19 relief bill includes more than a quarter of a billion dollars for Mahoning and Trumbull counties and local communities.

“It’s a once-in-a-generation opportunity,” U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan said Thursday.

Of the approximately $260 million coming here, more than $200 million will go directly to the two counties as well as Youngstown and Warren, the largest cities in the counties.

Youngstown is in line to receive $88,629,500 — an amount greater than what is going to Mahoning and Trumbull county governments combined.

Mahoning County is set to get $44,351,660 while Trumbull County is to receive $38,395,838. Warren is expected to receive $29,752,062.

The money is for communities impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic as well as for being neglected by the federal government for decades, said Ryan, D-Howland.

“I don’t think we should apologize for one second for finally making the kind of investments into the communities that they need,” he said.

“There are a number of needs that have gone unmet for a long, long period of time,” Ryan added.

Youngstown will receive the most money because of how the funding is determined.

The criteria included population with an emphasis on household income that is below 150 percent of the poverty line and unemployment rate late last year. It is similar to federal Community Development Block Grant allocations, which focuses on poverty, population, housing overcrowding and age of housing largely in metropolitan areas.

“This money will have more flexibility than the previous CARES Act,” Ryan said.

The money can go toward revenue loss and cover premium pay of up to $13 an hour above regular wages for essential employees as well as infrastructure projects including water, sewer and broadband, he said.

“This money will have a significant impact on these communities,” he said.

The money will be used to help cities like Youngstown and Warren that have seen significant declines over the past few decades in federal funding, Ryan said.

FUNDING AMOUNTS

Smaller cities will receive funding such as $3,563,700 for Niles; $1,809,103 for Girard; $1,982,426 for Struthers; and $1,526,376 for Campbell.

Townships also will receive funding, with some local ones in line to obtain significant amounts, through the bill.

There was a change in the bill’s language after it was approved by the House and then went to the Senate, Ryan said.

The Congressional Research Service provided unofficial estimated ranges for local townships. The amounts are likely to change and are calculations based on if a township’s population includes parts of villages and cities, according to the CRS, which works for Congress.

The final amounts won’t be available for at least a week, likely longer.

Among the potential amounts coming to the Valley include $7,240,568 to $8,703,504 for Boardman; $6,503,224 to $7,817,182 for Austintown; $4,563,954 to $5,486,089 for Weathersfield (though most of that is likely part of Niles’ allocation); and $3,841,025 to $4,617,093 for Liberty.

Ryan suggested the communities could pool some of the money and use it for a major infrastructure project.

The money must be spent by Dec. 31, 2024.

YOUNGSTOWN

Youngstown was awarded $88,629,500 because of its poverty and unemployment issues while still having one of the larger populations of a city in the state.

Youngstown is one of the poorest cities in the nation with a 35.2 percent rate of its residents living in poverty, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

The median household income in the city is $28,822, also among the lowest in the nation, according to the bureau.

The city’s unemployment rate is typically among the highest in the state, and it is also the most-populous community in the Mahoning Valley with 65,469 residents.

“Council and the administration will need to adapt to the evolving health and economic challenges” caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, said Kyle Miasek, the city’s finance director. “My understanding is we can use the funds to respond to public health emergencies, provide government services or invest in infrastructure over the next three and a half years. It is my hope that we use this one-time federal relief for the best investments for the community and for its future.”

MAHONING COUNTY

Ryan went on a videoconference link from Washington to talk to Mahoning County commissioners Thursday about $44,351,660 that the county is set to receive. “It’s basically a great shot in the arm for Mahoning County, I think an opportunity not just to stabilize, but for us collectively to do something big for the broader community,” he said.

Commissioner David Ditzler, a Democrat, said what he likes about the bill is “it’s for people.”

“Our people need help, and government needs a little bit of assistance because of the pandemic,” Commissioner Carol Rimedio-Righetti, a Democrat, said.

Audrey Tillis, county administrator and director of its office of budget and management, said the county previously received $13.8 million in CARES Act funds with about 65 percent being allocated to the community for programs such helping small businesses. Funds helped improve technology to help people work from home, such as phones and computers, she said.

Mahoning County will probably use some of the money to replace revenues lost to the pandemic and to again help small businesses, she said.

STATEWIDE

Overall, $11.24 billion in funding is coming to Ohio with $5.9 billion going directly to the state government and the rest going to local governments.

Among Ohio’s cities, Cleveland is getting the most money, $541,410,000, while Cincinnati is getting $291,590,000 and Columbus is receiving $185,960,000

Local governments will receive half the money in about 60 days and the other half a year later.

The bill, passed along political party lines, also includes up to $1,400 direct payments to most Americans, extending the $300 weekly emergency unemployment benefits into early September, bigger child tax credits, $130 billion in additional assistance to K-12 schools, $40 billion for higher education, $30 billion to help low-income people pay rent and help the homeless, $50 billion to expand COVID-19 testing and $15 billion for the distribution and administration of COVID-19 vaccines.

All Republicans in the House and Senate voted against the bill saying it’s filled with unnecessary spending on liberal programs and comes before most of the money in the previous COVID-19 relief bill has been spent and while the economy is improving.

“There are parts of this bill, especially those that mirror our Republican alternative on supporting the production and distribution of additional vaccines, that will help,” said U.S. Sen. Rob Portman, R-Terrace Park.

“But there are hundreds of billions in spending in this measure that are unnecessary when we know that nearly half of the last $900 billion COVID-19 relief package enacted in December has yet to be spent.”

Reporter Ed Runyan contributed to this report.

dskolnick@tribtoday.com