By Joshua Bowling, Paulina Pineda, Andrew Oxford and Maria Polletta, | Arizona Republic
Arizona city and county leaders want a piece of $1.86 billion in federal relief funds that are controlled by the state government. Some leaders are ready to go to court for it.
Phoenix and Mesa together received nearly $400 million in federal relief funds. The cities are partly using that money to support small businesses and food banks, but leaders of smaller Arizona municipalities and counties are increasingly frustrated that the state hasn’t shared any of the $1.86 billion in aid it received.
The friction comes as cities, towns and counties with fewer than 500,000 residents weren’t eligible for direct federal funding.
The Pinal County Board of Supervisors recently voted to sue to force the state to distribute the federal CARES Act funding to smaller locales.
And a coalition of Arizona mayors sent a letter to Gov. Doug Ducey, asking him to instruct cities, towns and counties how to apply for the funding.
