Richardson will receive an additional $549,780 in funding from the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act after Dallas County commissioners on June 2 agreed to consider a newer set of population counts.
The amount—which represents the second-highest funding adjustment in the county—brings Richardson’s total CARES Act allocation to $4.7 million from Dallas County and $2.4 million from Collin County.
Cities can use the money to assist residents with housing costs, offer grants or loans to small businesses, or for other uses outlined in the federal law. The money is intended to blunt the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
Commissioners on May 19 allocated $55 per Dallas County resident in each city that had yet to receive similar funding from the state.
But some cities asked for the county to use more recent population estimates that would result in more funding, according to county staff documents.
Going forward, the county will use the higher of two sets of estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau for each city—including one the bureau partnered with the Texas Demographic Center to produce. Those numbers were updated May 21.
“This will ensure cities receive $55 per capita based on whichever population model benefits the city more,” a staff report read.
The more recent estimate marks Richardson's Dallas County population at 86,403, nearly 10,000 residents higher than the original estimate.
This adjustment resulted in an additional $3 million in federal funding being distributed to Dallas County cities, bringing the total to $75.5 million.
The boost in funding Richardson received was second only to Farmers Branch, which saw an increase of more than $900,000 from the program.
Some Dallas County cities, such as Irving and Coppell, saw no change or only a small change to their funding levels.
Irving's population estimate was higher under the original model than the more recent one, meaning its $13.2 million funding amount remained unchanged.
Coppell saw its $2.2 million funding total rise by $4,345.
