City can’t always depend on an infusion of Fed money

As we reported last week, this spring and summer will be busy around town.
The city has been fortunate to receive various federal grants totaling over $19 million in recent years that will go toward funding the repaving of our streets and alleys, as well as continuing the replacement of lead water lines with non-lead lines.
The federal grants are likely one-time only infusions of money, which the government offered to many communities throughout the nation in order to rebuild America’s aging infrastructure.
It’s money being wisely invested back into our communities.
What gets us, however, is that some city officials think it was their handiwork in getting these needed repairs done. Folks, these grants are the result of hard work by a number of people prior to the current administration.
And yes, the current administration has also done an admirable job in getting grants.
But sooner or later, the revenue stream could dry up – really, largely depending on who gets elected to national and state office.
What Hamtramck has to do going forward is plan a road map toward keeping the city financially solvent – realizing that a lot of variables can happen to potentially throw monkey wrenches into the city’s finances.
It’s happened in the past, and it will very likely continue in the years to come.
Hamtramck’s recent financial stability can be traced to one major factor: a huge transfusion of money currently being funneled this way.
Enjoy the fruits of that investment but realize, too, that anything can change in the coming years.
Posted March 29, 2024