Dwindling COVID relief funding forces tough decisions for Maryland’s counties

After several years of bolstering services with federal COVID relief dollars, Maryland’s county governments have been deciding what to continue funding and how to spend the dwindling money still available. Elected officials are making these decisions at a time when revenue projections are indicating budget shortfalls as soon as next year. Multiple rounds of federal COVID-19 assistance — which most recently included $350 billion from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) that Congress passed in 2021 — have helped state, territorial, local and tribal governments across the country respond to the public health emergency.