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Puerto Rico Towns to Receive Additional $100M in Pandemic Aid

By on April 14, 2021

Omar Marrero (Juan J. Rodríguez/CB)

Funds Totaling $300M for Emergency Services During Covid-19 Crisis 

SAN JUAN — The executive director of the Puerto Rico Fiscal Agency and Financial Advisory Authority (Aafaf by its Spanish acronym), Omar J. Marrero, said Wednesday that the island’s 78 municipalities completed the application process for the third phase of the Coronavirus Relief Fund (CRF) Assistance Program to Municipalities totaling $100 million.  

The official said approximately $1 million will be distributed to each municipality to ensure the continuation of emergency services associated with the pandemic. The latest disbursement raises the total assistance provided to municipalities to $300 million. 

“After Governor Pedro Pierluisi authorized the extension of this program, we immediately began working hand in hand with the municipalities to meet federal requirements from the start and be able to distribute the money more expeditiously,” Marrero said in a statement. “For this reason, we prepared updated guidelines with terms and conditions and we organized many informative group and individual sessions with the municipalities, in which we provided relevant guidance and information on the application process in accordance with the eligibility criteria.” 

The agency chief explained that, through the applications, the municipalities submitted their eligible expenses, expenses not budgeted or covered by other assistance funding, which the municipalities must incur during 2021 to expand the effective response against the pandemic. He added that most municipalities were able to include in the application expenses incurred in 2020 that could not be paid from other assistance funds.  

Aafaf and the CRF Disbursement Oversight Committee published the updated guidelines with the terms and conditions at www.aafaf.pr.gov.

See “Federally Funded Disaster Recovery Projects Get Underway” on page 18 of this week’s issue of Caribbean Business.

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