The City of Riverside could receive up to $140,000 from the $1.9 trillion dollar COVID-19 stimulus bill recently signed into law by President Joe Biden.

The allocation is part of the $350 billion designated in the legislative package to replenish tax revenue collections that decreased during the pandemic for state and local governments. The allocation formula mostly relies on the number of unemployed people in each state at the end of 2020. City Administrator Christine Yancey says any stimulus funding received comes with some strings attached, “It’s [a] two-year program so you would only get half of it the first year and you get half of it the second year, so half this year and half in 2022 and it has to be used right away, it’s not something you can just hold. What we’re using it for is to replenish the lost revenue from the (Riverside) casino during that time when it was closed down.”

Yancey says the city also suffered water and sewer revenue losses when the casino shut down due to the pandemic. She says there’s been no indication as to when they will receive their initial stimulus payment, but once the state receives the money it has 30 days to distribute the funds to the local governments.

Among other Washington County cities, Kalona is projected to receive $350,000, Wellman $190,000, Crawfordsville $40,000, Ainsworth $80,000, Brighton $90,000, West Chester $20,000 and Washington $1 million.