The U.S. Department of the Treasury released new, extensive guidance on compliance and reporting for the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). Although cities will not need to report until later this year, the guidance outlines the information cities will need to collect and provide to Treasury.
The 34-page document covers various data and narratives that city officials will need to include in their reporting based on the use of ARPA funds. For instance, if a city does a broadband project, the city must include the speeds, prices, technology, miles of fiber, cost per mile, number of households served, etc. Other uses only require a brief narrative explaining how the city used the funding to further ARPA goals.
Go here to view the Compliance and Reporting Guidance booklet.
Treasury officials consider ARPA funds as a federal grant program, which results in significant compliance and reporting structures. Cities will need to track and retain the types of data required by the order and additional guidance to prove an accurate report of the use of the funds.
Although the comment period has not expired for the interim final rule, Treasury continues to update their frequently asked questions and provide additional reporting guidance. KLC Executive Director/CEO J.D. Chaney told the Interim Joint Committee on Local Government this week that the rule “leaves a lot of open questions going forward.”
Entitlement communities – Ashland, Bowling Green, Covington, Elizabethtown, Henderson, Hopkinsville, Lexington, Louisville, and Owensboro – must submit their first reports by August 31, 2021. All other cities, known as non-entitlement communities, have until October 31, 2021.
