Item:
Title
ARPA Budget Reconciliation and Approval of ARPA Grant Ordinance Amendment No. 25ARPA001 Moving Funding Between Functional Areas to Align with Final Project Authorizations and Approve Contract Amendments to Support Final Project Authorizations (20 min)
Body
Date of BOCC Meeting: December 9, 2024
Request for Board Action:
Agenda Text
The Board is requested to approve ARPA Grant Ordinance Amendment No. 25ARPA001, moving funding between Functional Areas to align with final project authorizations. The reconciliations align with recent Board discussions and remain within the ARPA project budget, totaling $62,445,275. In addition, the Board is asked to approve the contract amendments to support the childcare subsidy allocation, food insecurity, and funds to support a water-sewer project. More specifically, the Board is asked to authorize the County Manager to execute the contract amendments to support an increased childcare subsidy allocation of $400,000 to the Child Care Services Association, bringing the contract total to $2,400,000 and increasing funding to support the Inter-faith Food Shuttle from $1,643,284 to $1,985,368, a $342,084 increase. The action also approves the contract amendment for the Durham Children’s Initiative to increase the existing contract by $61,500 to administer the DCo Thrives Guaranteed Income Pilot Program, which brings the contract amount to $1,652,500. Finally, the budget to support Slater Road for the water-sewer project is increased to $13,135,308, with transfers from the Broadband project allocation and other previously funded ARPA projects. The County will leverage funds available through the NC Department of Information Technology, Division of Broadband and Digital Equity to support broadband projects.
In 2021, Congress passed legislation to approve the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), a $1.9 trillion bill passed to speed up the country's recovery from the economic and health effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and recession. Of this amount, $350 billion was delivered to state, local, territorial, and Tribal governments to respond to the COVID-19 emergency. Durham County received $62,445,275. In May 2022, the Durham County Board of Commissioners adopted a comprehensive framework for allocating and using ARPA funds aligned with US Treasury guidelines.
ARPA funds can support several priorities, including a public health response to COVID-19, addressing negative economic impacts, replacing public sector revenue loss, and funding premium pay for essential workers. Funding can also address water, sewer, broadband infrastructure, and other priorities identified in the US Treasury Final rule. Funding must be encumbered by 2024, with all invoices paid by 2026.
Alignment with Strategic Plan: The project action aligns with Financial Stewardship.
Resource Persons: Claudia Hager, County Manager; John Keefer, Grants Administrator; and Ella Hargrove, Management Analyst
County Manager’s Recommendation: The County Manager recommends that the Board approve ARPA Grant Ordinance Amendment No. 25ARPA001, moving funding between Functional Areas to align with final project authorizations. In addition, the Board is asked to authorize the County Manager to execute the contract amendments to support an increased childcare subsidy allocation of $400,000 to the Child Care Services Association, bringing the contract total to $2,400,000 and increase funding to support food insecurity with an increase in the contract by $342,084, which brings the contract total to $1,985,368 with Inter-faith Food Shuttle. The Board is recommended to approve the contract amendment for the Durham Children’s Initiative by $61,500 to administer the DCo Thrives Guaranteed Income Pilot Program, which brings the contract amount to $1,652,500. Finally, due to project realignments, the budget to support Slater Road for the water-sewer project has increased from $10,000,000 to $13,135,308.