ARPA: Time to Get to Those Projects
May 1, 2022
By David Street, Chief of Staff, Loudoun County, VA; Carolyn Marinan, Hennepin County, MN
Signed into law just over a year ago, the American Rescue Plan provides $350 billion provided to state and local governments. While it’s not specific with what you can spend the funds on, it is specific on what you can’t [offsetting a reduction in net tax revenue resulting from a change in law, regulation, or administrative interpretation - Section 602(c)(2)(A) or deposit into a pension fund(s) - Sections 602(c)(2)(B) and 603(c)(2)]. And there’s a deadline: funds must be spent by December 31, 2024. So, the clock is ticking. But what to do with so many priorities and projects? And what could be done that leads to something sustainable and longer lasting?
One ARPA success story that garnered the editor’s attention was Hennepin County’s Isolation and Quarantine initiative. In October 2020, the Hennepin County Board approved the purchase of four hotel sites – totaling 165 units – to provide shelter for unhoused people at high risk for COVID-19 complications. This follows the county’s purchase of other facilities for similar uses – providing both an intermediary housing option as well as the ability to isolate during the heights of the COVID-19 Pandemic. During that process, Hennepin found the former hotel useful not just for housing people in need, but also as a hub for providing support services.
Carolyn Marinan, Hennepin’s Chief Public Affairs Officer, notes that “we purchased multiple hotels and similar properties to serve as protective and isolation shelter for people experiencing homelessness with high vulnerability to the virus. We undoubtedly know that we prevented further spread of COVID-19 and saved lives. Through our “Hotels to housing” program, we found permanent housing for more than 1,000 people experiencing homelessness who stayed in those hotels.”
Hennepin County is in the process of building on this innovation – the county is currently in the process of transitioning some of the acquired properties into permanent single room occupancy housing as part of a new broader strategy. This type of housing will help fill a critical gap in the Twin Cities housing market where there is currently a devastating lack of housing affordable to people at the lowest income levels and people experiencing homelessness.
A compendium of Hennepin’s relief efforts, including additional information regarding the housing initiative, can be found online: https://hennepin.us/residents/emergencies/arpa
Resources:
ICMA American Rescue Plan Resources: https://icma.org/american-rescue-plan-resources
NACo Analysis: Overview of US Treasury’s Final Rule for ARPA Fiscal Recovery Fund: https://www.naco.org/resources/featured/overview-us-treasurys-final-rule-arpa-fiscal-recovery-fund
Government Finance Officers Association: ARPA – U.S. Treasury Final Rule Takeaways: https://www.gfoa.org/arpa--us-treasury-final-rule-takeaways