Smith County to apply for rental assistance extension funds

TYLER — Smith County commissioners on Tuesday agreed to apply for federal funds that would continue to help people pay their rent if they were hurt financially by the pandemic. According to our news partner KETK, County Judge Nathaniel Moran said the money is a continuation of the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Emergency Rental Act now in place. Earlier this year Smith County received more than $7 million in rental and utility assistance funding in the first phase of the program. In the extension, the county would receive about $5 million more that could be distributed through Sept. 30, 2025, Moran said. He emphasized that the county was only applying to remain in the program and could decide later whether to accept the additional money.