Commissioner Updated Plan for Federal Recovery Funds
Westminster, MD, Thursday, October 21, 2021 – Today, in Open Session, the Carroll County Board of Commissioners received the third presentation from staff regarding potential county projects eligible for allocation of State and Local Coronavirus Fiscal Recovery Funds (FRF) and voted to direct staff to move forward with the projects included in today’s briefing.
The projects moving forward fall primarily into three areas: Department of Public Works utility and air quality upgrades, Department of Citizen Services enhanced behavioral health initiatives and Department of Technology Services broadband infrastructure expansion.
The funds, part of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), were signed into law by President Biden on March 11, 2021. Carroll County will receive a direct federal award of $32,718,855 in 2 allocations (May 2021 and May 2022) for a grant period of 3/11/21 – 12/31/26, with funding obligated by 12/31/24. The grant is intended to assist the county response to COVID-19, stimulate the local economy and support long-term recovery. While U. S. Treasury has not released the Final Rule, all projects included in today’s briefing fall within the guidelines of the Interim Rule.
Eligible project categories include:
- Response to COVID
- Address the negative economic impact on businesses and individuals
- Serve hardest hit communities and families
- Replace lost public sector revenue
- Premium pay for essential workers
- Invest in necessary water, stormwater and sewer infrastructure
- Invest in necessary broadband infrastructure
The process to get to this point includes a July session when staff provided high-level and broad overviews of 44 potential projects with total cost of over $57 million. Then, in August, the commissioners discussed the projects and narrowed the list of projects advancing for further review.
Residents interested in following the process can access information, presentations and recorded sessions on a dedicated county webpage, https://www.carrollcountymd.gov/frf.
Open session is available for viewing on the county meeting portal and the county YouTube channel. In addition, all meetings will be replayed on Comcast Channel 24.