Census 2020 has wrapped and under normal circumstances, the data used for redistricting would be released to the states and the public this spring. COVID-19 has caused significant delays, however, pushing out the delivery date of the statutorily required delivery of the PL 94-171 data to Sept. 30, 2021. This delay affects the usual 16-week timeframe that communities have to adjust their boundaries before local elections begin.
The Davis-Bacon Act requires that prevailing wages be paid on federally funded public works projects, such as construction, repair or alteration of public buildings, or construction of public roads or bridges. States must abide by the Davis-Bacon Act when federal funds are involved in public works projects within the state.
An important part of any planning process is the periodic evaluation or assessment of accomplishments and the identification of activities that remain. To that end, Centralina is pleased to announce that we are embarking on a five-year review of our region’s groundbreaking growth plan, CONNECT Our Future. Over the next months, we will be evaluating accomplishments and highlighting data and local and regional successes for the purpose of informing our future priorities.
In March 2020, the U.S. Economic Development Administration awarded the Centralina Economic Development District (EDD) the Centralina Disaster Relief Coordinator Grant. The grant award seeks to support the Centralina EDD’s regional emergency management system. Specifically, the project will provide local assessment of viability of existing emergency management plans and develop a regional emergency management strategy that includes evaluating the creation of a permanent regional disaster management roundtable.
On Sunday, January 3, 2021 we lost Joe Carpenter, a former public servant of Gaston County and former Board Chair of Centralina. Centralina staff and the officers of our Board would like to share our collective appreciation for his lifetime of service and many contributions to Centralina and our region.
Washington is in the final stretch of the 116th Congress. Two items remain in negotiations that must be resolved before lawmakers can head home for the holidays – FY21 appropriations and coronavirus relief. Congress was forced to pass a one-week extension of the continuing resolution to fund the government at current levels through December 18. The measure aims to give policymakers more time to strike a deal on a comprehensive FY21 spending bill, which may include coronavirus relief funding provisions if a separate aide package cannot be agreed upon.
A letter from the Executive Director reflects on 2020 and lists what’s in store for 2021: This time last year many were anticipating that 2020 would be a year to plan for a new decade and gain “20/20” vision or clarity on future priorities. Instead, we quickly found ourselves confronting the present, a global pandemic with severe local consequences that brought daily challenges and unprecedented levels of uncertainty.
What can we learn from the pandemic to make our communities stronger and better connected?
Through interactive discussions, polling and presentations, we heard from over thirty elected officials and executives about their top concerns related to the pandemic. Our team listened for opportunities to adjust our services and programming to better support COVID-19 response, recovery and relief.
The House voted 214-207 along party lines to pass the Democratic $2.2 trillion stimulus measure. The legislation is a slimmed-down version of the HEROES Act, the $3.4 trillion stimulus bill that passed the House in May. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell called the measure still too expensive to pass the Senate. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and U.S. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin continue negotiations. The proposal contains $436 billion in aid for states and cities.