The leaders of Monmouth County have laid out their plan for the rest of the year as the region emerges from the coronavirus pandemic for an expected busy tourism season.  

Commissioner Director Tom Arnone touched on many points -- what Monmouth County provided for towns and businesses during the pandemic and what the summer may look like?

“The nonprofits are a huge success of Monmouth County because they take the load off of some of our businesses that make sure the people have a great quality of life and get to do the things,” says Arnone.

There is $60 million coming soon to the organizations that serve as a backbone to the Monmouth County community: Veteran services, special needs, food banks, animal welfare, and the arts. It’s a continued county-run funding system using state and federal dollars as the pandemic comes to an end. It's all part of a much larger goal to keep the county strong. 

“We had a pandemic,” says Arnone. “We had to help people during the pandemic. The only way we are going to back to a vibrant community of vibrant workforce is to keep taking that area and saying the best thing you can do is go back to work.”

As the weather warms, Arnone expects record crowds at the Jersey Shore and tourist destinations. Avoiding the work shortage means getting people back into jobs with help through the county workforce development program, as well as a renewed focus on advertising. 

“We are going to make sure and put that money out on the streets,” says Arnone. “I'm going to share it with brochures we are going to create here in Monmouth County that's going to highlight every one of our municipalities.”

Arnone says the county gave out more than $100 million in 2021 to struggling towns and businesses, and the every dollar was spent and stayed in the county because of the system they set up.