The BDN Editorial Board operates independently from the newsroom, and does not set policies or contribute to reporting or editing aticles elsewhere in the newspaper or on bangordailynews.com. The city of Bangor has received $20.5 million in federal COVID relief funds. Directing this money to areas of great human need, rather than government buildings, can make a fundamental difference to the city and its residents. Bangor leaders have taken a slow and comprehensive approach, with an emphasis on soliciting input on how the funds should be spent.