American Rescue Plan
ABOUT THE AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN:
The American Rescue Plan is a landmark investment targeted to delivering direct relief to the American people, rescuing the American economy, and containing the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The American Rescue Plan was signed into law by President Joe Biden on March 11th, 2021 - with the United States Treasury issuing its initial spending guidelines to state and local governments in May 2021.
In response to additional questions from public officials on the eligibility of American Rescue Plan allocations, the United States Treasury released an updated set of spending guidelines in January 2022. The modified guidelines significantly expanded the opportunities to invest ARPA funds into community recovery initiatives, infrastructure investments, and improvements to public services as General Government Services.
The Town of Groton was awarded nearly $8,600,000 in the American Rescue Plan with the funds received in two annual tranches (2021 & 2022).
A significant portion of these funds were committed to Capital Improvement Projects (CIP) and modified by the Representative Town Meeting in the FYE 2023 Budget Review process. The finalized budget included $4,450,000 in ARPA funds for a portfolio of community investments.
TOWN OF GROTON - COMMUNITY RECOVERY FRAMEWORK:
The Town of Groton closed its Funding Round on June 30th and is conducting an application review to ensure submission completeness and project eligibility. The Town of Groton intends to allocate between $1,500,000 and $2,900,000 in American Rescue Plan funds to support initiatives that address the impacts of COVID-19 and contribute to a community-wide pandemic recovery.
The Review Committee will evaluate proposals for projects that respond to the impacts of COVID-19 and to support a comprehensive recovery with strategic community investments and quality of life improvements.
To guide its allocations of American Rescue Plan funds. the Groton Town Council has approved the creation of six Community Recovery Categories:
1. Economic Development & Resiliency
The Economic Development & Resiliency Recovery Category shall focus funds to facilitate the Groton community’s economic recovery from the COVID-1 pandemic and to respond to future public health and climate challenges;
2. Infrastructure & Transportation
The Infrastructure & Transportation Recovery Category shall focus funds on critical Capital Improvement Projects that enable safe multimodal access and sewer infrastructure across the Groton community;
3. Parks & Recreation
The Parks & Recreation Recovery Category shall focus funds on planning and capital improvements that enhance opportunities for the Groton community to access upgraded facilities and recreation programming;
4. Human Services
The Human Services Recovery Category shall focus funds on enhancing the Town of Groton’s social services and public health infrastructure to retool Groton’s efforts to stop the spread of COVID-19 and to support communities disproportionately impacted by the pandemic;
5. Arts & Culture
The Arts & Culture Recovery Category shall focus funds on supporting local artists and cultural destinations that enhance community development efforts across the Groton community;
6. ARPA Administration & Other
The ARPA Administration Recovery Category will address any administrative needs, requests and contingency amounts allocated by the Town Council.
The U.S. Treasury's Guidelines for the American Rescue Plan mandate that ARPA funds must be allocated before December 31st, 2024. The funds issued through the American Rescue Plan must be spent by recipients before December 31st, 2026.
OUTREACH CAMPAIGN
The Town of Groton received $8,587,894 of State & Local Fiscal Recovery Funds under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. These funds were issued with the stated objectives to stop the spread of COVID-19, address the economic impacts of the pandemic, and to build a strong, resilient, and equitable recovery by making investments that support long-term growth and opportunity.
To gather public input on the Groton community’s spending priorities on the use of American Rescue Plan funds, Town Staff hosted a series of public workshops in the Fall of 2021 to collect ideas for community projects.
The Town of Groton released its Budget Simulator platform in January 2022 with a call to action for the Groton community to balance the ARPA budget. The Budget Simulator platform asked respondents to distribute funds to community projects and spending categories to designate their priorities for spending the Town of Groton’s American Rescue Plan allocation. Town Staff promoted the Budget Simulator through a range of community engagement methods including social media, articles in the New London Day, door knocking, tabling at public events, a town wide mailer, and a set of kiosks at the Groton Public Library and the Thrive 55+ Active Living Center.
The portal received 124 submissions from the public with respondents spending 11 minutes and 26 seconds on average to balance the ARPA budget and submit their spending priorities.
The data collected through the ARPA Budget Simulator will be integrated into the Town of Groton’s Community Recovery Needs Assessment to highlight the participant’s spending priorities for allocating American Rescue Plan toward critical community projects and recovery initiatives.
AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN
The American Rescue Plan Act was signed by President Joseph Biden in March 2021 to provide state and local governments with critical resources to stop the spread of COVID-19 and to support rebuilding efforts for a comprehensive and equitable economic recovery.
American Rescue Plan: https://home.treasury.gov/system/files/136/SLFRF-Final-Rule.pdf
U.S. Department of the Treasury - State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds: Project Highlights: https://home.treasury.gov/system/files/136/American-Rescue-Plan-Anniversary-SLFRF-Examples.pdf
Brookings Institution: Equitable Economic Recovery post-COVID Must Be Society's Priority (May 2022): https://www.brookings.edu/blog/fixgov/2022/05/27/equitable-economic-recovery-post-covid-must-be-societys-priority/
The New London Day: Here's where southeastern Connecticut cities and towns are in allocating ARPA funds (July 2nd, 2022): https://www.theday.com/article/20220702/NWS01/220709875
Update 1/18/2022: The Town has released a budget simulation tool that you can use to virtually submit your budget ideas: >>www.groton.abalancingact.com/groton-arpa-spending-plan<< |