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The American Rescue Plan – Local Government Impact

April 23, 2021

The American Rescue Plan (ARP), which was signed into law on March 11, 2021, will provide historic levels of relief to local governments to support the ongoing pandemic public health response and lay the foundation for a strong economic recovery. The Plan allocates $350 billion for relief to state, local and tribal governments. Local municipalities – towns, villages and counties, as well as tribal governments are expected to receive two allotments of funds from the U.S. Department of Treasury, with half of the funding coming this spring, and the balance coming a year later. For those communities receiving payments directly from the Department of Treasury, the target date to receive the first financial allotment is May 10th. For communities that will have payments disbursed through the state government, the target date to receive the first portion of the funding is June 9th. While the Department of Treasury is still working out the detailed guidelines for the funds, it is intended that municipalities use it for:

  • covering costs associated with response to the COVID-19 public health emergency, providing premium pay to essential workers or grants to employers that employ essential workers, providing government services that have been curtailed due to lost revenue as a result of the pandemic, and

  • investment in water, sewer and broadband infrastructure.

With a federal infrastructure bill likely to follow, this is a rare opportunity for local municipalities to shore up their infrastructure after filling budget gaps opened up by the pandemic. A full summary of the plan details is available here.

B&L “IMPACT” ANALYSIS

Estimates are available for the amount of relief to be received by each local government. However, with very few details yet available on how and when the funding may be utilized, now might be the perfect time to sit down with Barton & Loguidice and perform a proprietary “IMPACT” funding review of your municipality. IMPACT or “Investments for Municipal Public Agencies, Communities and Transportation” is our proprietary, personalized and detailed review of past project funding and future eligible project funding sources that may be available to your municipality, including the American Rescue Plan.

Barton & Loguidice has over 60 years of consulting experience throughout the Northeast with major infrastructure project planning and development. Let us help you develop your next project, while maximizing all available funding sources, to determine cost-effective solutions for your growing community.

For more information, contact John A. Benson, Senior Vice President, Director of Marketing & Business Development.