Over the next several years, the City is eligible to receive more than $11 million in federal pandemic relief funding as part of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). This page describes the City’s approach to administering these funds and provides resources to help the community track our progress using the funding. You’ll also find opportunities to ask questions and provide feedback.
Latest News
On Oct. 25, 2021, the City's Finance Director Bryan Archer provided a presentation to the Arvada City Council. View the presentation beginning at 58:26 in the meeting video.
Background
Signed into law by President Joe Biden on March 11, 2021, ARPA established $1.9 trillion in COVID-19 relief funding. The act included $350 billion to aid state and local governments. Funding can be used to invest in recovery from the pandemic and its negative impacts, with a specific emphasis on equitable recovery efforts, and can be spent over the next five years. The federal government requires the City to identify uses for ARPA funds (encumber) by Dec. 31, 2024 and entirely used by Dec. 31, 2026.
The City’s pandemic recovery process depends on community involvement and transparency in sharing how we have distributed pandemic-related relief funding.
Our Focus
The City team is administering ARPA funding consistent with our Recovery Principles and how we manage other federal relief and grant programs, such as the CARES Act and Housing and Urban Development. We are also committed to strategic partnerships, including with Jefferson County and local non-profits, to coordinate when possible to maximize the effect of relief funding in our area.
The approach includes a commitment to apply resources across the following focus areas:
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Public Health and Economic Impacts - The City is identifying opportunities to support the community’s response to the public health emergency and its negative economic impacts. Potential uses include assistance to households, small businesses, and nonprofits, or aid to impacted industries such as tourism, travel, and hospitality.
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Premium Pay for Front-line and other Essential City Workers - The team has proposed using $1 million of the available funding to provide additional compensation or “premium pay” to members of the City team who have performed essential duties during the pandemic. This decision requires City Council approval, and will be considered as part of the Sept. 13 business meeting.
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Revenue Loss - Although the City has so far weathered the economic downturn caused by the pandemic better than initially expected, we anticipate using some ARPA funds to help the City maintain a 4.1% increase in revenue over the pandemic period.
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Investments in Infrastructure - Following federal guidelines, the City will use a portion of the ARPA funding to improve access to clean drinking water, improve wastewater and stormwater infrastructure systems, and provide access to high-quality broadband service.
Reporting
In this section, we will provide updated reporting on how the City is applying ARPA funding. Actual budgeting and spending is dependent on approvals and feedback from the City Council, as well as feedback from the City team, its partners and the greater community.
Key Links
Contact
Have questions about how the City is applying ARPA funding? Contact our Finance Department:
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Main Telephone Number: 720-898-7120
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Street Address: 8001 Ralston Road, Arvada, CO 80002