Special City Council Meeting: Arpa Funding 

At a Special Meeting on May 18, City Council decided to fund all eligible projects up to 70% of the initial request, with a maximum of $1 million. All projects can be viewed in the spreadsheet below:

City Council ARPA Funding Decisions (PDF)

Watch the May 18 City Council ARPA Funding Discussion:

CITY OF DURHAM'S ARP FUNDING PROCESS

Durham is taking an iterative approach to American Rescue Plan (ARP) implementation that will continue to adapt based on community, stakeholder, and Council feedback. Ongoing engagement, review, allocation, and evaluation will occur for the full life cycle of this federal funding. Watch the latest Bull City Today Segment on Durham's ARP funding process.

For more information, read the ARP funding process guidance (PDF).

The first round of proposals were due July 31, 2021. Watch the ARP update at the September 9th City Council Work Session here.

Eligible proposals were invited to submit a final application for funding, which was presented to City Council in December 2021. Watch the ARP presentation at the December 21st City Council Work Session here. View a summary of the initial applications for funding (PDF). Please check back for updates.  

All funds must be allocated by the end of 2024 and spent by recipients by the end of 2026. For additional information, review Durham's first Recovery Plan Report which was submitted to the U.S Treasury on August 31, 2021. For questions about the process, you can email [email protected].

Community Engagement

The City of Durham is proactively working to engage residents and advance community-driven solutions to recovery. In partnership with North Carolina Central University, Durham County, and Neighborhood Improvement Services, and the Office of Equity & Inclusion, we conducted robust community engagement around this unique federal funding opportunity including, but not limited to, two events: 

Identifying Community Needs

On June 8th, Durham residents were invited to discuss outstanding needs in our communities, share our common goals, and generate ideas for how to spend American Rescue Plan dollars. Watch the recorded meeting here. View notes from the meeting here (PDF).

Reviewing Community Priorities

On August 5th, residents were invited to a follow-up meeting to review the community input and provide feedback about which investments should be prioritized. This event reviewed how American Rescue Plan funding can be spent, discussed the needs and ideas identified through community engagement, and provided transparency about the process moving forward. Watch the recorded meeting here. View notes from the meeting here (PDF).

• "To the Rescue: How the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 Can Help Your Locality Recover and Rebuild." by ICMA & Sustainable Strategies DC
• American Rescue Plan U.S. Conference of Mayors Information Packet
• NC League of Municipalities Resources on The American Rescue Plan
• 10 Priorities for Advancing Racial Equity Through the American Rescue Plan: A Guide for City and County Policymakers" by PolicyLink 

About ARP

The American Rescue Plan Act 2021 was signed into law by President Biden on March 11th, 2021. This act provides U.S. cities and counties with $130.2 billion through December 31, 2024. The City of Durham will receive more than $50M as part of this allocation. These funds will be used to help offset revenue losses resulting from the pandemic, as well as fund other community needs. Specifically, these funds may be used to:

• Support public health expenditures, by, for example, funding COVID-19 mitigation efforts, medical expenses, behavioral healthcare, and certain public health and safety staff 
• Address negative economic impacts caused by the public health emergency, including economic harms to workers, households, small businesses, impacted industries, and the public sector 
• Replace lost public sector revenue, using this funding to provide government services to the extent of the reduction in revenue experienced due to the pandemic
• Provide premium pay for essential workers, offering additional support to those who have and will bear the greatest health risks because of their service in critical infrastructure sectors 
• Invest in water, sewer, and broadband infrastructure, making necessary investments to improve access to clean drinking water, support vital wastewater and stormwater infrastructure, and expand access to broadband internet 

Within these overall categories, recipients have broad flexibility to decide how to best use this funding to meet the needs of their communities. 

On January 6, 2022, the U.S. Treasury Department (Treasury) released the Final Rule (PDF) for the State and Local Coronavirus Fiscal Recovery Fund (Recovery Fund), which was authorized under the American Rescue Plan Act (PDF), and allocated $65.1 billion in direct, flexible aid to every city in America. The Final Rule will go into effect on April 1, 2022. However, a city can choose to take advantage of the Final Rule’s new flexibilities and simplifications now, even ahead of the effective date.

For an overview of the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds program including expanded use of eligible uses, see the U.S. Department of the Treasury website.