The latest overview of the $350 billion in State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF) from the American Rescue Plan Act Stimulus Check (ARPA) was made public by the Treasury Department last month. The updated information offers a unique perspective on how big cities and counties, which collectively got $65 billion, are allocating the second half of the SLFRF funds that the Treasury awarded in May.
Our Local Government ARPA Stimulus Check Investment Tracker has been keeping tabs on how 330 sizable towns and counties are utilizing these funds to stabilize government operations and deal with the health and economic repercussions of the COVID-19 outbreak during the past six months. Updates on ARPA Stimulus Check obligations and expenses until June 30, 2022, are provided in this article.
New Stimulus Check In 2023
As of June 30, local governments were around one-third of the way through the period they have until the end of 2024 to budget and obligate their SLFRF allocations. SLFRF funds had been allocated by then to around 7,500 projects by big cities and counties (91 cities/consolidated counties and 239 counties with populations above 250,000), a 21% increase since the end of March 2022.
Likewise, funding contributions increased. At the end of June, there were 61% more SLFRF dollars pledged overall than there were at the end of March (51%). Large counties and cities have budgeted their full first tranche of funding as a result, and they are now starting to distribute the second tranche they received in May. In our research, cities had a little budgetary advantage over counties. Compared to counties, which have budgeted 52%, large cities and merged counties have budgeted 71% of their SLFRF allotment.
SLFRF funds totaling $39 billion have been budgeted or used by these local governments as of June, leaving $26 billion to be committed by December 2024 and expended by 2026.
