[NFBMT] FW: Montana Remains Financially Resilient amidst COVID-19

[d m gina]

Can we then ask for money for news line?
just some thoughts.
Dar
Original message:
> FYI, Gov. Bullock says below in his e-newsletter that the Montana 
> budget is in good shape.





> Jim Marks

> President

> National Federation of the Blind of Montana

> president at nfbofmt.org

> (406) 438-1421

> www.nfbofmt.org



> You can live the life you want; blindness is not what holds you back.



> From: Governor Bullock [mailto:governor at mt.gov]
> Sent: Monday, August 24, 2020 7:14 PM
> To: James Marks <president at nfbofmt.org>
> Subject: Montana Remains Financially Resilient amidst COVID-19



> Friends:

> I wanted to write to you today to give an update on our state budget 
> and how we are using our Coronavirus Relief Fund to provide much needed 
> aid to support our local businesses and communities.

> Despite the many unprecedented challenges amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, 
> Montana has remained financially resilient, providing us with the 
> resources we need to face this year’s fire season as we continue to 
> respond to the spread of the coronavirus in Montana.

> Thanks to their responsible stewardship of taxpayer dollars, state 
> agencies under my leadership finished the fiscal year under budget, 
> allowing for an estimated $46.7 million transfer from the general fund 
> to the fire fund. This puts the fire fund at its statutory maximum of 
> $101.5 million, or 4% of fiscal year 2021 appropriations, for the first 
> time in history, enough to cover nearly five average years of state 
> wildfire suppression costs.

> Additionally, the Budget Stabilization Reserve remains at its statutory 
> maximum, which is $114.2 million or 4.5% of fiscal year appropriations. 
> This represents the second year in a row that the Budget Stabilization 
> Reserve has been funded to its statutory cap and it is available to 
> sustain the budget should revenue collections or expenditures vary from 
> projections.

> The balances of the general fund, the fire fund, and the Budget 
> Stabilization Reserve total $620 million as the 2021 fiscal year 
> begins. While we all know a lot can change before the year is out, 
> these are optimistic signs that we can continue to navigate these 
> challenging times without needing to make painful cuts to the essential 
> services Montanans rely on.

> Separate from the state’s budget, we received funding from the federal 
> government to help spearhead our economic recovery. To date, we have 
> allocated nearly 80% of the CARES Act dollars, with over $270 million 
> of that awarded, to help Montanans, small businesses, schools, 
> nonprofits, farmers and ranchers, and local governments and more toward 
> economic recovery. We continue to get dollars out the door to support 
> the small businesses and workers across the state as we work to safely reopen.

> In addition, we recently doubled the funds available through our 
> Business Stabilization Program, allowing us to distribute more money 
> directly to the nearly 8,000 small Montana businesses who are already 
> participating in the program and increasing the amount available to new 
> applicants.

> For additional information on current grant funding, eligibility 
> requirements or to apply, visit  
> <https://commerce.mt.gov/Coronavirus-Relief> 
> https://commerce.mt.gov/Coronavirus-Relief. A transparency dashboard is 
> available to provide information on which businesses CARES Act funding 
> is going to, in every community of the state, at:  
> <https://commerce.mt.gov/Montana-Coronavirus-Relief/Awarded-Grants> 
> https://commerce.mt.gov/Montana-Coronavirus-Relief/Awarded-Grants.

> Thank you for everything you have done over the last five months to 
> keep your families and communities safe. I continue to be amazed by the 
> determination and resiliency of the people of this state.

> Sincerely,

> STEVE BULLOCK
> Governor

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