Because American Rescue Plan SLFRF money came directly from the U.S. Treasury, there was very loose guidance on its’ use. There were 5 distinct loosely defined categories outlined for this funding. After distribution of funds, advisory committees were appointed by the Mayor to oversee and allocate funding to specific projects.

Broad categories for use as defined by federal government

  • Lost public sector revenue replacement funding to provide government services up to the amount of revenue lost due to the pandemic.

  • Negative economic impacts - supporting the health of communities and households, small businesses, impacted industries, nonprofits, and the public sector to recover from economic impacts.

  • Provide premium pay for essential workers.

  • Invest in water, sewer, and broadband infrastructure making necessary investments to improve access to clean drinking water, to support vital wastewater and stormwater infrascture, and to expand affordable access to broadband internet.

  • Administration of

  • SLFRF programs and projects including costs to support management and oversight, compliance with legal and regulatory requirements, and accounting and reporting SLFRF funds.

Athens-Clarke County received roughly $57.6 million in American Rescue Plan State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (ARP SLFRF) in 2022. These funds were to provide resources needed to respond to the pandemic and its economic effects and to build a stronger, more equitable economy during the recovery. This money may be used for costs incurred beginning on March 3, 2021 and ending December 31, 2026. The money must be obligated by December 31, 2024. On May 1, 2022, the Mayor and Commission authorized the allocation of ARPA funds for specific uses and designated nearly $40 million in program areas including Youth Development and Violence Prevention, Affordable Housing, Homelessness, Business Development and Workforce Support, and Behavioral Health.

We place attention on these funds because as mentioned, parameters for use are very loose, as the money came directly from the United States Treasury, and not a federal agency which typically uses the state Georgia to administer under a defined and regulated program. You can see where money is being spent on the ACCGOV website here.

Allocations of roughly $35 million of ARP-SLFRF Funds

  • $11 million for Affordable Housing

  • $7 million for Youth Development and Violence Prevention

  • $5 million for Homelessness

  • $4 million Business Development and Workforce Development

  • $4 million for Behavioral Health

  • $3.4 million was spent on revenue replacement and budget-balancing with

  • $908,000 towards administration

$17.7 million was authorized and spent previous to the above allocations as follows - $5.7 in Premium pay for ACCGOV workers, including the Mayor and Commission. $2.5 million for a government sanctioned homeless camp, $2.4 million for an eviction prevention program, $2.3 million to balance the FY22 budget, $1.5 million for ARP administration and $1.1 million for vaccine incentives for public and government employees.

$4.5 million was set aside as a contingency for other purposes and a portion thereof has since been allocated for an additional affordable housing program.

Since these allocations, ordinances have been approved to allocate at least $5.7 million from the affordable housing bucket to bolster Phase I of The North Ave Project replacing Bethel Homes. The consultant firm of HR&A Advisors was contracted to make recommendations for use of the remaining approximate $5 million ARP-SLFRF money for affordable housing and can be found here. Their plan is here.

Youth Development and Violence Prevention has not been allocated except for roughly $1 million in summer programing for underprivileged youth in FY22 with a new RFP for FY23.

In addition to the above ARP-SLFRF money, the state of Georgia administers HOME ARP Grants from HUD. ACCGOV was awarded a $2.5 million HOME Grant to support homeless services and housing for homeless.

ACCGOV must submit the plan for this Grant to HUD by March 31, 2023. Cloudburst, a contracted consultant, is in the process of making recommendations for this Grant as well as an overall strategic plan to support homeless services with the $5 million in homelessness ARP SLFRF funding. A draft of the HOME Grant plan will be released to the public Feb 15th to March 6th. M/C will get an update on the Feb 14th work session and a proposed vote for March 7th.

How is this funding important to SafeD Athens you might ask. Our mission is to enhance Safety and Security of students and all residents of Athens-Clarke County. With close to $60 million in direct American Rescue Plan Act funding, the Mayor and Commission chose not allocate any funding towards any programs to address safety and security infrastructure which is entirely appropriate within the revenue replacement category for ARP-SLFRF funding. Athens-Clarke County Fire and Emergency Services suggested early on that funding be made available for purchase of a new ladder fire truck because budgeted costs were drastically insufficient. M/C rebuked this request. In fact, it was extremely difficult to get the Mayor and Commission to agree to extra security cameras (as noted) within the downtown area. UGA funded an additional $350,000 to provide cameras off campus in downtown Athens.. ACCPD receives annual opportunities to apply for funding used to help pay for Gang Task Force Officer salaries. M/C have historically been reluctant to approve applying for this JAG grant. “Violence prevention” is solely identified by ACCGOV in ARPA-SLFRF funding “buckets” as after school youth programming for underprivileged students within ACC. While we applaud and fully support program opportunities for underprivileged youth, after-school programs alone will not keep Athens-Clarke County and UGA students safe and secure today.

Update: The plan defining how the $2.5 million HOME Grant is to be spent was approved by the Mayor and Commission during the March 7, 2023 Regular Session by a vote of 8 to 1.