The City of Smithville will soon be applying for up to $72,000 in grant funding under a coronavirus relief effort called the Tennessee Local Government Reimbursement Program.

During Thursday night’s special city council meeting, Mayor Josh Miller said the city could apply for this latest grant program and the money be used for things that meet the grant eligibility requirements. The city would have get pre-approval for the expenditures and then spend the money and be reimbursed.

For example, Mayor Miller said the city might be able to purchase vehicles to keep coworkers such as water and sewer employees from having to travel to job sites together in the same vehicle to reduce the threat of catching and spreading the coronavirus.

Last month Governor Bill Lee and the state’s bipartisan Financial Stimulus Accountability Group announced that an additional $115 million in coronavirus relief funds would be made available to local governments to offset costs incurred from responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.

This program comes in addition to the $210 million in grants for county and municipal governments approved by the General Assembly in the state’s 2021 budget. The City of Smithville’s portion from that grant is $135,000 and specific projects have already been identified and budgeted for this year.