Operating Budget 2025-2026

American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Fund

Background: The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) was signed into federal law on March 11, 2021 by the Biden Administration to offer financial assistance to local communities still recovering from the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PEH). The $1.9 trillion legislation appropriated funding to states and localities across America, offering financial support through the established Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (CSLFRF) program and federal grant process. From this legislation, the Town of Blacksburg was allocated $13,364,987, funded in two separate tranches on May 21, 2021 and June 9, 2022. Apart from the General Fund, the Transit Fund, HOME Consortium Fund, and Police Department received separate allocations of $4.7 million, $2.1 million, and $255,000 respectively. In determining how to best expend the federal award for the benefit of our community, the Town of Blacksburg developed a comprehensive process while adhering to all of the federal requirements associated with the ARP/CSLFRF program. Process: In October 2021, the Town Manager established an internal process for developing, reviewing, and selecting eligible projects for use of CSLFRF funds. The ARPA Advisory Committee was formed to facilitate the process of submitting and evaluating projects for eligibility, internal capacity, and community benefit. The committee consisted of a key staff member from the following departments and offices: Engineering and G.I.S., Housing and Community Connections, Financial Services, Parks and Recreation, Planning and Building, Police, Public Works, Sustainability, Technology, Transit, and the Office of the Town Manager. The ARPA Advisory Committee held several meetings to review ARPA regulations and develop a process and timeline for reviewing projects, conducting community engagement, and the appropriation of funds by Town Council. The committee first distributed an internal survey to departments to gather project ideas and estimated costs. Each department worked closely with their staff to identify potential projects, respective costs, and other relevant information. Departments also utilized the Town’s five-year Capital Improvement Program (CIP) for reference in regards to upcoming capital projects that may be eligible under ARPA guidelines. The Advisory Committee sent a similar survey to 52 community partner organizations that directly serve Town of Blacksburg residents. Through the survey, non-profits and other community partner organizations were able to submit project ideas of their own. The ARPA Advisory Committee diligently reviewed every submitted project to confirm eligibility under the CSLFRF program. From the proposed projects, both internally and externally, a total of 57 were determined to be eligible and were included in a new community survey that was published to gather broad public input. As part of this survey, respondents were asked to prioritize project ideas generated by both Town staff and local community partners. On the survey, the community was also given the opportunity to suggest additional project ideas. Over 1,500 surveys were completed by the public, which played an important role in determining community needs and priorities. Once the community survey was completed, the ARPA Advisory Committee evaluated each project on the following eight criteria: Community Need and Benefit, Equity, Strategic and Impactful, Capacity and Logistics, Project Cost, Operating Budget Impact, Town Council Strategic Goals, and Town Comprehensive Plan. After the evaluations were discussed and analyzed, the committee developed a recommended list of projects within budget and identified other potential scenarios to consider. The committee’s report was presented to the Town Manager and Town Council for review and after extensive staff, community partner, and Town Council involvement, eleven projects were approved on June 14, 2022 to receive ARPA funding. The ARPA Committee then published the report detailing the entire process, community input, and planned use of funds. The full report is available at https://letstalkblacksburg.org/arpa. The appropriation of the ARP/CSLFRF grant was adopted by Town Council on August 23, 2022.

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