What is ARPA? Covid 19 Benefits
Do you know the COVID-19 relief packages that impact your organization?
After all that has happened and all this time with COVID, ARPA is a word we usually hear a lot in these times. But what exactly is ARPA? The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 or “ARPA” as it is known, was signed into law on March 11, 2021 to provide $350 billion in additional funding for state and local governments as one of the COVID-19 relief packages. Who exactly benefits from these funds? State, local, and tribal governments that have been negatively impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. ARPA includes a significant amount of “Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds” (SLFRF) for state and local governments to use over a period of several years, and the local portion of these federal funds is referred to as the Coronavirus Local Fiscal Recovery Fund (LFRF).
How can the funds be used?:
To respond to the public health emergency or its negative economic impact - addressing COVID-19 and its impact on public health as well as addressing economic harms to households, small businesses, nonprofits, impacted industries, and the public sectors.
To provide premium pay for essential workers - offering additional support to those who have and will bear the greatest health risks because of their service in critical sectors.
To compensate for revenue loss - using this funding to provide government services up to the amount of revenue loss due to the pandemic.
For investments in water, sewer, and broadband infrastructure - making necessary investments to improve access to clean drinking water, to support vital wastewater and stormwater infrastructure, and to expand affordable access to broadband internet.
These eligible uses are all tied to a Final Rule, which was developed by the Department of Treasury as a guide to explain the program, all this ARPA funding must be spent by the end of calendar year 2024. During the process recipients are required to submit trimester reports and annual reports to the Department of Treasury, all which are detailed in Report Guides. At On Point Strategy we provide support to government organizations in the completion of such requirements.
One may ask, wasn’t there another funding source for COVID Relief? The answer is yes. The CARES act was a similar grant that was signed in 2020 to attend similar matters. But there is still a difference between them. It should be noted that those ongoing expenditures claimed under the CARES Act, which are now also eligible under ARPA can continue to be considered for reimbursement and funding. However, it should be noted that there are three major exceptions to this rule: ARPA places additional restrictions on payroll costs for public health and safety employees, does not allow expenses related to issuing tax-anticipation notes, and are not eligible to be utilized for non-federal matching requirements such as FEMA Disaster Assistance or Medicaid. So, now you know a little bit more about ARPA funding, and it’s important as these funds are being obligated every day and will from a part of our grant cycle for more year to come.
In what step of the process are you? We can help!
At OPS we can help you understand the program and the benefit it provides to people and businesses. Contact us for more information.
