Crain's editorial: Spend wisely Print The past year has been rough, but with the federal government's help, it has not been as brutal on state and local governments' finances as originally feared. No one who works on a municipal budget feels relaxed, but the doomsday scenario of plummeting tax receipts and massive service cuts hasn't materialized. Now, with the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, city and state governments are in line to receive billions to assist in the rebuild from the pandemic's economic damage. The money is allocated under the Community Development Block Grant formula, which means cities like Cleveland, with relatively higher levels of poverty and older housing stock, benefit more than other places. Cleveland will receive an estimated $541 million over two years, the most of any Ohio city. Akron is set to get about $153 million.