the american rescue plan & arkansas

The American Rescue Plan & Arkansas

J O H N W I L K E RS O N :

G E N E R A L C O U N S E L

B L A K E G A R Y:

L E G A L C O U N S E L

C A R A N C U R RY:

G R A N T S AT TO R N E Y

Trainings:

Future?

Cover new administrative developments & key provisions on eligible uses, et al.

Questions: [email protected]

Same link

Handouts & Video posted to League’s website

mailto:[email protected]

First Tranche this Week

Thank you DF&A!

If a city/town needs help, please

let us know.

Payment & Accounting Tidbits for NEU’s

If your paperwork is complete with DF&A, expect your funds this week

Deposited into the general turnback account

If you do not have EFT, then a paper check will be sent

REMEMBER: DO NOT CO-MINGLE (separate account for funds?)

Collateralize if funds exceed FDIC limit push your accounts past $250K

A recipient may only use funds to cover costs incurred during the period beginning March 3, 2021

3 March, 2021

Cost MUST be obligated by December 31, 2024

31 Dec. 2024

Projects MUST be completed and paid for by December 31, 2026

31 Dec. 2026

Timelines for Use

• Period of Performance Ends

• Purchase Order Issued

• Contract Signed, or

• Subawards Made

DEFINITION OF “OBLIGATE”

2 CFR 200.71

Tools to help you through

this.

Reporting Guidance


this.

League’s Website

www.arml.org/resources/american-rescue-plan/

http://www.arml.org/resources/american-rescue-plan/


this.

Treasury’s Website


this.

Interim (soon to be

Final) Rule Can we follow Interim Rules for now?


this.

FAQs


this.

The League

John Wilkerson – [email protected]

Cindy Frizzell – [email protected]

Caran Curry – [email protected]

Blake Gary – [email protected]

Sheila Boyd – [email protected]

Jack Critcher – [email protected]

Lanny Richmond – [email protected]

Breanna Keith – [email protected]

Caleb Alexander-McKinzie – [email protected]

Alena Hernandez – [email protected]

Larra Bender – [email protected]












Cannot Use to Repay Existing Loan or Indebtedness

No Streets/Road

Not as a Federal Match (may change)

What We Know…So Far

INELIGIBLE USES

Lost Revenue due to COVID-19

Negative Impact of COVID-19

[Health (Public Safety) or Economic Impact)

Premium Pay for Essential Workers

Infrastructure Projects

Water, Sewer, or Broadband

What We Know…So Far

ELIGIBLE USES:

4 CATEGORIES

Eligible Use:Lost Revenue

❖What is Lost Revenue?

❖ Use League’s Revenue Calculator

❖ Loss will be the difference between ACTUAL 2020 Revenues vs. EXPECTED 2020 Revenues;

❖ Determine your average annual growth rate over the past three years.

If less than 4.1%, then use 4.1% as default growth rate;

❖Use these funds only for government services.

“Section 603(c)(1)(C) of the Act provide(s) recipients with broad latitude to use the Fiscal Recovery Funds for the provision of government services.”

“for the provision of government services to the extent of the reduction in revenue of such metropolitan city, nonentitlement unit of local government, or county due to the COVID–19 public health emergency relative to revenues collected in the most recent full fiscal year.” §602 (c)(1)(C)

What are “Governmental Services”?

“Government services can include, but are notlimited to, maintenance or pay-go funded buildingof infrastructure, including roads; modernization ofcybersecurity, including hardware, software, andprotection of critical infrastructure; health services;environmental remediation; school or educationalservices; and the provision of police, fire, and otherpublic safety services.”

Eligible Use:Negative Economic Impacts of COVID-19

“Respond to the public health emergency with respect to the COVID19 or its negative economic impacts, including assistance to households, small businesses, and nonprofits, or aid to impacted industries such as tourism, travel, and hospitality.”

“Where there has been a negative economic impact resulting from the public health emergency, local governments have broad latitude to choose whether and how to use the Fiscal Recovery Funds to respond to and address the negative economic impact.”

Eligible Use:Public Health Impacts of COVID-19

“Respond to the public health emergency with respect to COVID-19 or its negative economic impacts, including assistance to households, small businesses, and nonprofits, or aid to impacted industries such as tourism, travel, and hospitality.”

“Where there has been a negative economic impact resulting from the public health emergency, local governments have broad latitude to choose whether and how to use the Fiscal Recovery Funds to respond to and address the negative economic impact.”

NEGATIVE ECONOMIC

IMPACT

How do you know?

(1) Identify an effect of COVID-19 on public.

(2) Would the use of the funds “respond to” the identified negative economic impact?

REMEMBER: “Responses must be related and reasonably proportional to the extent and type of harm experienced; uses that bear no relation or are grossly disproportionate to the type or extent of harm experienced would not be eligible uses.”

Document документ

Document Documento

資料 Dokument

έγγραφο Belge

DOCUMENT, DOCUMENT, DOCUMENT

Can we assist the Northwest Technical Institute in building a new facility that would help them in the training of nurses?

Walkthrough Example: Public Health Impact

Tourism, Travel, & Hospitality

“Respond to the negative economic impacts, including . . .aid to impacted industries such as tourism, travel, and hospitality.”

Other than . . . tourism, travel, and hospitality.

Public Safety: Police, Fire, and EMT

As discussed in the Interim Final Rule, uses of CSFRF/CLFRF funds that

respond to an identified harm must be related and reasonably

proportional to the extent and type of harm experienced; uses that bear

no relation or are grossly disproportionate to the type or extent of harm

experienced would not be eligible uses.

Eligible Use:Premium Pay

❖ Up to $13 per hour in addition to wages for eligible worker, but not to exceed $25,000 for the life of the grant per worker;

(Worker may not receive Premium Pay for telework from residence.)

❖ Eligible Workers: Relied on to maintain continuity of operations of essential critical infrastructure sectors.

❖ Essential Work: Regular in-person interactions or regular physical handling

of items that were also handled by others.

❖ Chief executive has discretion to add additional sectors provided sectors are deemed critical to protect the health and well-being of its residents.

“Per the statute, recipients have broad latitude to designate critical infrastructure sectors and make grants to third-party employers for the purpose of providing premium pay or otherwise respond to essential workers.”

“to respond to workers performing essential workduring the COVID–19 public health emergency by providingpremium pay to eligible workers that are performing such essential work,

or

by providinggrants to eligible employers that have eligible workerswho perform essential work.”

Eligible Use:Premium Pay, miscellaneous

❖ LOPFI, APERS, FLSA

❖ CENTERPOINT/ PAYROLL PROCESSING

What about…

❖Volunteer Firefighters?

❖Elected City Officials?

“to respond to workers performing essential workduring the COVID–19 public health emergency by providingpremium pay to eligible workers that are performing such essential work,

or

by providinggrants to eligible employers that have eligible workerswho perform essential work.”“Per the statute, recipients have broad latitude to designate

critical infrastructure sectors and make grants to third-party

employers for the purpose of providing premium pay or

otherwise respond to essential workers.”

Payroll Contributions, etc.

LOPFI – Does Not Apply to Premium Pay

APERS – DoesApply to

Premium Pay

FLSA – We don’t know

yet, maybe not

CENTERPOINT can help.

Volunteer Fire Fighters – We

don’t know yet

FICA (other payroll contributions)

Resolution to Spend on Premium Pay

Eligible Use:Water, Sewer, & Broadband

“Local governments have a broad range of water and sewer infrastructure needs, the Interim Final Rule provides wide

latitude to identify investments in water and sewer infrastructure that are of the highest priority for their own

communities.”

❖Wide range of types or categories of projects that would be eligible to receive financial assistance through the

CWSRF or DWSRF.

❖ Davis-Bacon Does Not Apply

❖When using funds for storm water make sure there’s a water quality aspect to your project.

“to make necessary investments in water, sewer, or broadband infrastructure.”

Eligible Use:If it’s in the book…


Eligible Use:Water Projects

❖DWSRF:

✓treatment;

✓transmission and distribution;

✓source rehabilitation and decontamination;

✓ storage;

✓consolidation;

✓new systems development.

“Local governments have a broad range of water and sewer infrastructure needs, the Interim Final Rule provides wide latitude to identify investments in water and sewer infrastructure that are of the highest priority for their

own communities.”


Eligible Use:If it’s in the book…


Eligible Use:Sewer Projects

❖ CWSRF:

✓ construction of publicly-owned treatment works,

✓ nonpoint source pollution management;

✓ decentralized wastewater treatment systems;

✓ stormwater systems, must have a treatment component;

✓water conservation, efficiency, and reuse measures;

✓ energy efficiency measures for publicly-owned treatment works

✓ security measures;

✓ technical assistance to ensure compliance with the Clean Water Act.

“Local governments have a broad range of water and sewer infrastructure needs, the Interim Final Rule provides wide latitude to identify investments in water and sewer infrastructure that are of the highest priority for their own

communities.”


Eligible Use:Broadband Projects


❖ Eligible Projects that reliably deliver 100/100;

❖ If impracticable, projects must reliably deliver at least 100/20;

❖ Projects must also be designed to serve unserved or underserved(those that are not currently served by a wireline connection that reliably delivers 25/2).

Focus of Governor Hutchinson

There is a lot of funding for Broadband out there

Explore Partnerships

STAY TUNED . . . More guidance coming

Fifth (sort of) Eligible Use:Transfers to State


❖State transfers:

The Rescue Plan:“(4) TRANSFERS TO STATES.—Notwithstanding paragraph (1), a metropolitan city, nonentitlement unit of local government, or county receiving a payment from funds made available under this section may transfer such funds to the State in which such entity is located.”

The Interim Rule:“The transferor must provide notice of the transfer to Treasury in a format specified by Treasury. If the local government does not provide such notice, it will remain legally obligated to Treasury.”

Fifth (sort of) Eligible Use:Transfers to Others


❖Transfers to Others:

The Rescue Plan:

“(3) TRANSFER AUTHORITY.—A metropolitan city, nonentitlement unit of local government, or county

receiving a payment from funds made available under this section may transfer funds to a private

nonprofit organization (as that term is defined in paragraph (17) of section 401 of the McKinney-

Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11360(17)), a public benefit corporation involved in the

transportation of passengers or cargo, or a special-purpose unit of State or local government.”

The Interim Rule:

“The Interim Final Rule clarifies that the lists of transferees in Sections 602(c)(3) and 603(c)(3) are not

exclusive. The Interim Final Rule permits State, territorial, and Tribal governments to transfer Fiscal

Recovery Funds to other constituent units of government or § 602(c)(3) of the Act. private entities

beyond those specified in the statute. Similarly, local governments are authorized to transfer Fiscal

Recovery Funds to other constituent units of government (e.g., a county is able to transfer Fiscal Recovery

Funds to a city, town, or school district within it) or to private entities.”

When Transferring to “Other than State”:Lots to Consider

Determination of the Relationship

Subrecipient vs. Contractor

Pre-award Risk Assessment Formation and

Issuance of Subaward Agreement

Post-award Monitoring & Reporting

More to Consider

UGG (not, ugh…)

Award Document

Title VI Compliance (non-discrimination)

Reporting (more guidance coming)

Uniform Grant Guidelines

“UGG”

2 CFR § 200

Definitions

Uniform Grant Guidelines “UGG”

2 CFR § 200

Part E

Expenses must be:

❖ Necessary to the performance of a project

❖ Reasonable

❖ Allowable

❖ Allocable to the project and consistently/uniformly treated

❖ Documented

Allowable Costs

Procurement

Separate Recorded Training Session

General rule: follow state or local law, whichever is more restrictive

If below formal bidding, then get at least 3 quotes + document reasonableness of the cost

No geographic preferences

Procurement Chart

Procurement Quote Form (DBE quote)

Conflict of Interest Policy

Arkansas Procurement Chart

Uniform Grant Guidelines “UGG”

2 CFR § 200

Greater than $750k in federal funds per year, aggregated.

Required Audits

Award Documents: Compliance (Don’t Worry, this is Manageable)

SAMOMB Guidelines to Agencies on

Governmentwide Debarment and Suspension (Nonprocurement),

Recipient Integrity and Performance

Matters

Drug-Free Workplace

Restrictions on Lobbying

Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real

Property Acquisitions

Applicable federal environmental laws

and regulations.

Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 -

-----------

The Fair Housing Act

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act

(disability discrimination)

The Age Discrimination Act

Title II of the Americans with

Disabilities Act of 1990.

❖ Applies to projects, not employment

❖Must have a complaint procedure(Use ARDOT’s Title VI forms)

❖ Limited English Proficiency

❖ Report violations

❖ Train staff

❖ Narrative Report on Progress

Title VI –Nondiscrimination

Non-Discrimination in Grant Administration

Title VI Compliance Document

❖ Already applies to municipalities – since 1991

❖ Protects the rights of people who have a physical or mental disability

❖ Be sure to add a clause in any public works construction contract that ensures ADA compliance

❖ Staff training & Policies – how to access aids, etc.

ADA (Disability)

Drug Free Workplace

Reporting

For Metro cities: quarterly

For NEUs: annually

Narrative: Title VI

Even if you haven’t spent or

obligated any funds, must file

report.

More guidance coming soon.

Administration Costs

Eligible Use

Administration costs must be reasonable,

actual costs (% of audit, grant)

Indirect CostIndirect – 10% De Minimus

Budget early, but charge/incur at time of reporting,

Then move funds to general revenue.

Final Thoughts

INTERIM RULES (SOON TO BE FINAL)

MORE GUIDANCE (FAQS) COMING

AGAIN, PLENTY OF TIME TO SPEND