Benton Harbor City Commissioners have signed off on a program to help residents who are struggling with rent and water bills. At a Monday meeting, the commission approved spending $600,000 for rent assistance and $300,000 for water assistance. All of that money comes from the federal government as a result of the American Rescue Plan. Mayor Marcus Muhammad said the city has so far received about $4.9 million of $9.8 million of expected federal COVID aid. He later said the city has seen revenues down during the pandemic.
“We have lost nearly $600,000 from the city income tax as a result of people working from home during the pandemic,” Muhammad said.
If those workers who worked from home had been going physically to work in Benton Harbor, they would have been paying the municipal income tax. Nevertheless, Muhammad said the extra federal support in the form of COVID relief can help to offset that loss.
