Supervisor Monthly Message - District 2 - August 2021

American Rescue Plan Act

 

The American Rescue Plan Act (APRA), funded through the U.S. Treasury, was signed into law on March 11, 2021, devoting 1.9 trillion dollars to combating the Covid-19 pandemic, including public health and economic impacts. Of that 1.9 trillion, 65.1 billion dollars is slated for direct aide to every county in America and will be allocated based on the county’s share of the U.S. population. Tulare County will receive just over 90.5 million dollars.

Tulare County has received half of our funding to date; however, these funds can not be spent until a plan brought forward by the County Administrative office and is approved by the Board of Supervisors. ARPA requires that a plan on the use of the funds be adopted by the Board no later than August 31, 2021. This plan must follow guidelines set forth by the U.S. Treasury.

Per the ARPA guidelines funding must be spent on areas where the County has lost revenue due to the pandemic. Additionally, to the lost revenue allowance there are a few ways in which counties may invest the ARPA funding; such as;  

•           Support public health response: Fund COVID-19 mitigation efforts, medical expenses, behavioral health care and certain county public health, public safety, human services, and other related staff

•           Address negative economic impacts: Respond to economic harms to workers, families, small businesses, impacted industries and rehiring of public sector workers (including county staff)

•           Replace public sector revenue loss: Use funds to provide government services to the extent of the reduction in revenue experienced during the pandemic – this provision allows a much broader use of Funds

•           Water, sewer, and broadband infrastructure: Make necessary investments to improve access to clean drinking water, invest in wastewater and storm water infrastructure and provide unserved or under served locations with new or expanded broadband access

For more information on the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) visit https://bit.ly/3730ZZ4.

 

Sincerely,

Pete Vander Poel

District 2 Supervisor