City, county leaders to discuss ‘Montgomery Thrive’ initiative

Published: Jun. 13, 2022 at 6:01 AM CDT
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WSFA) – Montgomery county and city leaders will meet Monday to discuss ideas and concerns raised as part of the “Montgomery Thrive” initiative. That’s a project aimed at recruiting input and educating the public on plans related to the American Rescue Plan Act.

With the initiative, this website was launched to allow Montgomery area residents to provide direct input to elected officials on their community’s needs and submit project ideas. Residents can also go to the website, sign up for updates, and complete a community survey.

“Funding from the American Rescue Plan Act presents a unique opportunity for the City and County to come together to ensure everyone in our community feels the impact of this unprecedented support from the Biden-Harris Administration,” Mayor Steven L. Reed said. “We united to create the Montgomery Thrive website and initiative to give residents the chance to learn about the American Rescue Plan funds while seeking their input on how these funds should be used to transform our community.”

The city and county say the website will also educate residents on the American Rescue Plan Act plans.

The spending plans have been broken down into five categories: infrastructure, public safety, community impact, public health, and economic development, with the city council going further, breaking them into subcategories to explore how best to allocate the money.

“The City and County working together allow us to combine resources and leverage those with other funding sources to make the biggest difference for our constituencies,” says City Council President Charles Jinright. “What we’ve found in these joint meetings is that city and county leaders have long been working on the same pressing issues. We share so much overlap that it doesn’t make sense for us to approach this separately.”

Jinright said the common goal is to make sure the money is being spent in a way that serves a long-term impact on the community.

The city council, county commission, and the mayor will meet on Monday to discuss the Montgomery Thrive Initiative. It’s set to start at 4 p.m. inside the county commons room in Annex 1 on South Lawrence Street.

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