OTTAWA COUNTY, Mich. — A West Michigan county will put a chunk of its ARPA funding towards crime victim assistance.
Nearly two years after the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act was signed into law, we are getting a better idea of how the money will be spent. In Ottawa County, they've come up with a new idea for the cash.
"As far as I know, there's no other fund like it in the state," says Ottawa County Prosecutor Lee Fisher.
The county received about $57 million dollars through ARPA. $1 million of that will now go into a crime victim assistance fund.
"We thought that it would be a good idea to maybe use some of that money to see if we could help support victims of crimes in our county," he says.
Fisher says each year, the county gets money from the state for crime victim assistance. Last year, they used all of the money given to them in only nine months.
Next year, that total given to them will be even smaller.
"It was just over $13,000," says Fisher. "And this year, it's going to be just under $12,000, so it's been cut."
The new fund will now allow for more money to be used after state funds run out. The million dollars will be invested into an interest bearing account, and the county will only use money accrued through interest.
"A really conservative return, something like 2%, you're still talking about $20,000," says Fisher.
That money will be used to financially support victims of any kind of crime, whether that's buying basic necessities or paying expenses like rent or a phone bill.
Fisher says he's glad to provide more tangible help to crime victims than ever before.
"Not just take their case to court and prosecute the case in the courtroom, but we can actually help them outside the courtroom with some real life needs that they have while their case is pending," he says.
The county expects to have the fund ready for use around the start of the new year.
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