By NICK GOSNELL
Hutch Post
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The Hutchinson City Council is supportive of the idea of getting community stakeholders together to talk about how to spend the money coming to the city and county from the latest stimulus package. A group of local organizations sent out an open letter to the governing bodies on Tuesday.
"I couldn't agree more strongly with you," said council member Jade Piros de Carvalho. "I commend you for initiating this process. I'm really excited about engaging as many voices as possible. We expect guidance from Treasury next Tuesday. The first tranche of money will hit the state then. The city should get it 30 days later."
The money doesn't need to be used nearly as fast as the last amount. Governments have until the end of 2024 to use the dollars. The council quickly reached consensus that the city manager should be a part of any group that is put together.
"I think, in some of our budget discussions going forward, we're probably going to have a little better feel for where some of this money could go and how that will relieve some of the pressure against some of the other projects that we're talking about," said City Manager Jeff Cantrell. "I don't yet know, I don't think anybody in the room yet knows what the eligibility for that looks like exactly, but I think we'll probably have a better idea."
The city's budget study session, once it is scheduled, will be an open meeting that others can attend. The intent is to get stakeholders together as soon as possible so each governing body can get some direction.
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