American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA)

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Background

The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Funds, also known as the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (CSLFRF), provides state, local, territorial, and tribal governments with a one-time infusion of funds to meet pandemic response needs and rebuild a stronger, more equitable economy as the country recovers.

Chatham County has the flexibility to decide how best to use this funding to meet the needs of our community as long as the uses are eligible and lawful. Chatham County can only use the funds for projects that are eligible under federal and North Carolina law.

By federal law, ARPA Funds can be used for:

Public Health Emergency Response

Economic Support

COVID-19 caused many economic and financial struggles. ARPA can provide money to relieve the negative impact on workers, households, small businesses, and affected industries. There is specific support to use these funds for low-income families and communities of color.

Some examples of this are:

rent assistance
job training to those seeking jobs
counseling for entrepreneurs and small businesses

IMPORTANT: State law does not allow governments to give grants to private businesses. The County can only contract with a private entity (individual, small business, non-profit) to perform a specific activity that we have the legal authority to do.

Premium Pay

ARP can be used to pay premium pay to lower-income workers that performed essential work during the COVID-19 pandemic. Employees must work in person or directly mitigate the impacts of the pandemic.

Examples of eligible workers are:

Staff at nursing homes, hospitals, and home-care settings
Workers at farms, food production facilities, grocery stores, and restaurants
Janitors and sanitation workers
Public health, human services, and safety staff
Childcare workers, educators, and school staff

IMPORTANT: Local governments in North Carolina cannot provide grants to private business by North Carolina state law. This means that we cannot give ARP funds to private businesses for premium pay.

Revenue Loss

ARPA allows state and local governments to use funds to bring services back or make necessary upgrades that were postponed due to the economic downturn.

Examples of the types of services or upgrades are:

Maintenance of existing capital
Pay go capital
Vehicles
General local government programs and services

To qualify, local governments must use a formula to calculate revenue loss. Based on this formula, Chatham County is not eligible to use ARP funds for revenue loss replacement.

Water, Sewer, and Broadband Infrastructure

ARPA allows the use of funds to make investments to improve access to clean drinking water, support wastewater and stormwater infrastructure, and expand access to broadband internet. All water projects must be eligible under Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Water State Revolving Fund or Drinking Water State Revolving Fund.

Allowable Uses Include:

Improving drinking water infrastructure including the replacement of lead service lines
Improving wastewater infrastructure
Expanding broadband internet access to unserved or underserved households and businesses (not allowed in NC)

IMPORTANT: Counties cannot provide broadband services in North Carolina by state law.

Chatham County ARPA Planning Process

Chatham County staff created a three-phase planning process to launch the use of ARPA funds. In addition, there are quarterly reports due to the government and annual audits.

Phase 1

Information Gathering

January 2022 - March 2022

Chatham County staff reviewed the ARPA, researched similar municipalities, and engaged the Chatham County community.

Phase 2

Prioritization

April 2022 - July 2022

Chatham County staff reviewed public feedback, vetted possible projects based on eligibility and legality, and prioritized projects based on the criteria established by the Board of Commissioners.

Phase 3

Implementation

August 2022 - Ongoing

After presenting a recommended plan of use to the Board of Commissioners in August 2022, Chatham County staff will launch approved ARPA-funded projects.

ARPA Presentations/Documents

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Public Engagement

From January 2022 until the end of March 2022, the Chatham County Board of Commissioners and staff sought input from the public to inform spending priorities and projects for Chatham County's ARPA Funds. To gather this feedback, Chatham County hosted:

eight (8) in-person public engagement meetings,
two (2) public comment sessions at Board of Commissioners meetings,
and an online survey.

Through this engagement, the following themes arose:

Additional Resources

If you are interested in learning more about the American Rescue Plan Act, please explore the following resources from the US Treasury:

Final Rule (as of January 27, 2022)
Final Rule Overview (as of January 2022)
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) (as of April 27, 2022)