Grants have played a vital role in accomplishing both large and small projects in Beatrice. For decades the City has used grants to improve our community.
Over the past 30 years, the City has been the recipient of grants from the Federal Energy Management Agency (FEMA) to purchase proprieties in our floodplain. These grants have enabled Beatrice to remove most structures from flood-prone areas in our community thus reducing the risk to life and property when the Big Blue River floods.
More recently the City has been awarded a variety of Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) administered by the Nebraska Department of Economic Development (DED). These grants have included three downtown revitalization grants, one public works grant (2nd Street), and one owner-occupied rehab grant. These grants have totaled more than $1.9M.
When I started here, I wrote and administered all grants in-house. However, as the reporting requirements have become more stringent, the City has partnered with Southeast Nebraska Economic Development District (SENDD) to administer and assist in the writing CDBG and other State grants. This arrangement does not cost the City any money, other than our $8,178 annual membership. Partnering with SENDD to administer the grants frees up City staff time to work on other projects.
An example of one of the CDBG reporting requirements is the Davis Bacon Act. This is a federal law from 1931 that requires any contractor receiving more than $2,000 must pay their employees a prevailing wage. The contractor must submit weekly payrolls which have to be verified and on-site interviews must be conducted with employees to verify the information reported by the contractor. This reporting requirement takes up a lot of time, especially as the number of contractors grows.
Recently the City has started to pursue federal grants. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and Inflation Reduction Act have provided a significant increase in federal grant funds that are available. These grants are for everything from roads, energy efficiency programs, and cyber security, to planting trees. The funds available for these grants are significant and they are highly competitive.
To assist the City in pursuing these federal grants, the City has retained Merchant McIntrye Associates (MM). MM works exclusively with nonprofit organizations and government entities to pursue federal funding. Currently, we are going through a resource inventory with MM to get a better understanding of the City’s priorities and how those priorities align with the federal funds that are available.
The City will continue to seek local, state, and federal funds to assist in making our community a great place to live, work, and play.
Tobias J. Tempelmeyer
City Administrator & BPW General Manager