New federal guidelines offer local governments additional, practical latitude in using funds distributed under the American Recovery Plan Act (ARPA) – welcome news for jurisdictions still navigating the accountability measures for appropriate spending and projects. Expect a breakdown from NACo soon.
The U.S. Department of Treasury just released their Interim Final Rule (IFR) for the bipartisan State, Local, Tribal, and Territorial Fiscal Recovery, Infrastructure, and Disaster Relief Flexibility Act (i.e. Cornyn/Padilla Amendment) that allows counties to invest ARPA dollars more flexibly towards new transportation and infrastructure projects, relief from natural disasters and eligible projects under the Community, Development Block Grant (CDBG) program.
NACo is currently analyzing the IFR and will host a membership call early next week to dive into the details.
