NASHVILLE – Hamilton County and Chattanooga governments, as well as the county’s nine other municipalities, would collectively reap $4.57 million under Gov. Bill Lee’s proposed one-time $100 million infrastructure grant program, figures show.
The Republican governor unveiled the proposal last week during his State of the State address to Tennessee legislators, saying he was including it in his $40.82 billion budget recommendation because, while the state is doing well, many local governments are “struggling financially.”
Lee is recommending using $100 million out of the $1.1 billion in the one-time surplus to create two $50 million funds: One is designated for Tennessee’s 95 county governments. The other is for the state’s 346 towns and cities.
Each county would get a minimum of $250,000 along with another distribution based on its population. Towns and cities would get a minimum of $15,000 along with a second distribution based on population.
The money must be spent on one-time expenses in five categories: road projects, capital maintenance, utility system upgrades, internet technology hardware upgrades and public safety.