Rescue Plan funding tracker distinguishes city, county budgeting priorities

It’s been almost a year since the American Rescue Plan was signed into law by Pres. Joe Biden. At the time, with the pandemic having forced local governments to slash budgets to keep up with rapidly evolving crises—from struggling businesses to vaccination drives—communities faced an uncertain future. 

The $1.9 trillion stimulus package set aside $350 billion exclusively for local governments, stabilizing communities at an important time. It featured spending flexibility that lent support to response measures and gave administrators an opportunity to look beyond the pandemic. 

From bolstering arts venues to sending out direct payments to those most in need, to investing in crumbling infrastructure, the ways in which local governments have distributed their ARPA funding allotments are as diverse as the communities they serve. A new app created by Brookings Metro in collaboration with the National League of Cities and the National Association of Counties tracks how communities larger than 250,000 people are leveraging funds to address the era’s unique challenges. 

So far, nearly half the funding allotted for cities and counties through the State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund (SLFRF), a portion of ARPA funding, has been budgeted. 

“Together, the 152 large cities and counties in our tracker have set aside funds for more than 2,300 named projects,” reads an analysis about the online resource’s findings from the Brookings Institute, a nonprofit public policy organization based in Washington, D.C. “Those projects collectively represent $18.4 billion in planned spending—a little less than half of the total SLFRF allocation.” 

In analyzing the findings, the Brookings Institute highlights how cities, especially, have invested the lion’s share of their distributions into government operations. This includes “government employee wages or hiring, fiscal health recovery, and investment in city facilities, equipment, and IT,” the analysis says. 

A generous portion has also been used by administrators to replace revenue lost during the pandemic. While counties have budgeted in a similar way, cities especially have set aside much of their funding to keep local government running.  

For example, cities have diverted nearly 45 percent of their ARPA allotments toward daily operations, with about another 10 percent funding public health efforts and the same percentage going to pay for infrastructure projects. Counties, on the other hand, have budgeted about 30 percent of their allotments for government operations. An additional 20 percent is going toward public health initiatives and a little more than 15 percent has been slated for infrastructure projects. In other areas including housing, community aid and economic development, the allocation percentages are about the same. 

A statement from the National League of Cities notes this spending prioritization highlights nuances in “local government functions and economic circumstances. Many counties are using their funds to strengthen local health departments and mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, while many cities are using the funds to augment services and supports for young people negatively affected by the pandemic.” 

In total, cities have so far budgeted $9.5 billion, or 60 percent of their total share, while counties have budgeted about 32 percent of their allotment, representing $5.7 billion. These percentages are expected to evolve as communities continue to emerge from the pandemic’s shadow. 

“We anticipate that as time goes on, the share of SLFRF dollars dedicated to government operations will decline, as stabilization priorities give way to larger-scale, longer-term efforts,” the Brookings Institute’s analysis says. 

Those long-term efforts include getting the ball rolling on overdue infrastructure projects. 

For example, Boston has set aside $2 million for its “neighborhood-based traffic-calming program,” according to a description of the project included in the portal, on which users can read about each specific project and view funding allotments. The Boston program will include “street design changes that self-enforce safe driving behaviors. These changes include proven safety countermeasures such as curb extensions and raised crosswalks, as well as general application of speed humps to slow speeds to 20 MPH.” 

Elsewhere, in Ingham County, Mich., $1.5 million has been set aside “to improve broadband at county-owned facilities and enhance remote work solutions.” And in Jacksonville, Fla., $8.3 million has been budgeted to help major entertainment venues impacted by COVID-19, including TIAA Bank Field, VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena, 121 Financial Ballpark, Prime F. Osborn III Convention Center, and Times-Union Center for the Performing Arts, among others. 

To view the online ARPA funding resource and find project descriptions, visit bit.ly/3oBn36x.