Lewis County Herald - Serving Hohenwald, Lewis County Tennessee Since 1898

The United States Department of Treasury recently announced that Lewis County Government has been awarded a total of $100,000 in federal grant money for fiscal years 2022 and 2023. That money will come from the “Local Assistance and Tribal Consistency Fund,” which is a program that was passed by Congress as part of the American Rescue Plan Act.

Lewis County is fortunate to receive this grant, as less than half of the counties in Tennessee were eligible for this funding. The LATCF program was specifically created for counties that meet certain eligible revenue criteria, as well as those with large amounts of federally owned public land, such as the Natchez Trace.

“This is more great news for Lewis County taxpayers,” stated Lewis County Mayor Jonah Keltner. “This is a 100% fully-funded grant, thus requiring no local match. County Commissioners will now be able to use these grant funds instead of local tax dollars to pay for important projects and items to help improve our community.”

Commissioners were informed earlier this week that the County’s General Fund balance was $2,446,509, which is a record high for this time of year. Mayor Keltner credited the healthy fund balance to the fiscal responsibility of County Commissioners, Elected Officials and Department Heads; a continued increase in the county sales tax collections; and the historic number of grants like this that the County has received the last five years.