LOC News
Update - Distributions for Projects Receiving State ARPA Funds
The LOC has received numerous member inquiries about the process and timing for receiving American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds for city projects that were identified in HB 5006, the 2021 legislative session’s Christmas Tree Bill. Details on the bill are available in this budget report, and cities can search for their city name by using CTRL+F. Of particular importance to cities are $240 million in ARPA grants by state legislative districts (see pages 26 to 38 for a list of projects), and almost $276 million for drinking water, storm water, and sanitary sewer projects (see pages 43 to 45 for list of projects).
Since the end of the legislative session, the LOC has been having conversations with state partners on distribution of these state ARPA funds and seeking more details on the process first described in Governor Brown’s signing letter. This week, the governor’s office provided legislative members with two documents that explain what the process will look like, and we have provided links to those documents below. The first document lays out a series of steps that will begin in September to distribute these funds, and steps cities can take now to prepare. The second document is an example of a previous federally funded grant agreement, though the terms will necessarily change due to specific ARPA requirements.
The Oregon Department of Administrative Services (DAS) has not yet completed a review of the list of projects for ARPA requirements, so we do not expect this money until late 2021 at the earliest. There is no specific timeline yet for completing the process, and projects larger than $150,000 will require a review for legal sufficiency, so it seems reasonable that many cities will not see these funds until early 2022.
The LOC will continue to work with our partners at DAS and will share more information as it becomes available. We know many of your cities are counting on this money to complete time sensitive projects.
Contact: Mark Gharst, Lobbyist - mgharst@orcities.org or 503-991-2192
Last Updated 8/27/21