Oneida County Economic Development Executive Director Jeff Verdoorn speaks at a recent economic development summit in Rhinelander. (Photo courtesy of Ben Meyer and WXPR Radio)
RHINELANDER, WI (WSAU-WXPR) — Oneida County and its cities and towns will be getting more than $10 million in federal money as a part of the most recent rescue plan.
But we’re not sure where that money will go. In March, President Biden signed a $1.9 trillion COVID relief package. That law gave direct payments to most Americans, poured more money into unemployment payments, and helped distribute vaccines. Hundreds of billions of dollars also went to state, local, and tribal governments.
Oneida County Economic Development Corporation Executive Director Jeff Verdoorn said the county is in for a windfall. “Looking forward, there’s $10 million coming to Oneida County, $7 million to the county itself, $4 million going to municipalities, and then some additional, undefined state dollars that will be coming in as part of this rescue plan,” Verdoorn said. “It’s really targeted at infrastructure, so I’m excited about that.”
Verdoorn said little of the money has been spent because the federal government has yet to set out specific guidelines on how it can be used. He represented the Economic Development Corporation as part of an economic summit in Rhinelander last week.
“This is our view. We essentially stimulate growth, economic growth, and then work to leverage that growth to improve our community as a whole: make it a place people want to be, creating a never-ending cycle of improvement. That’s what we do at OCEDC,” Verdoorn said.
The summit also included information on business start-up strategies, broadband resources, and workforce development.
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