JUDGE: More grant money available for Milam County
We have worked hard to bring more grant money to Milam County.
In fact, in 2021 Milam County was awarded an all time record of over $40 million in grant money. Most of this was for infrastructure work, such as roads, bridges, sewer and water.
Grants are critical as there are not enough tax dollars to provide for all of the governmental services that need to be provided. However, getting a grant is no easy task as there is a lot of competition for a small pool of money.
In addition to the infrastructure grants, we received grant funding for a first-ever countywide flood plain map which is critical for new business coming to the county. We received grants for countywide education, grants for our Medical Department, grants for training and many others. In fact, we even received a $4.7 million grant to renovate the former Cameron hospital for the new Milam County Annex. This week we toured downtown Cameron and the new Annex with Mr. Jeff Williford from Senator John Cornyn’s office to see first hand how we have made such good use of federal funding for the benefit of the citizens of Milam County.
Last week, we learned that Milam County will benefit from two more grants. Texas Workforce Solutions received a $7.8 million grant from the Department of Labor to assist Veterans who are transitioning from the military to a civilian job. Milam County is one of seven counties that will receive assistance from this grant. This money will be used to help Milam County veterans get the needed training to secure a good civilian job.
In addition, Milam County schools are on track to receive significant funding for new teaching equipment as a result of a $2 million grant procured by Temple College. Milam County has a great relationship with Temple County and together we have worked to secure this new grant. Specifically, the money will be used to buy equipment for teaching new job skills as a part of the Career and Technical Education programs which are available in our public schools. We thank Temple College President, Dr. Ponce for working so closely with Milam County.
We also thank our friends at the Economic Development Administration (EDA) for assisting our county government with grant opportunities. Just this week we learned of another large grant opportunity through EDA for educational purposes that would be great for Milam County. During the last three years we have worked hard to establish these relationships and going forward we will continue to work with our partners to secure more beneficial grants for our community.