The Department for Local Government (DLG) has started cutting paper checks to non-entitlement communities to distribute American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) dollars. Over $157 million will go to 361 cities that did not receive funding directly from the U.S. Department of the Treasury.
Payments will come in two tranches, with cities getting half of their total allocation in the coming days. The second tranche will come about a year later. Cities have until December 31, 2024, to obligate the funds and December 31, 2026, to spend the money.
Kentucky’s nine entitlement communities – Ashland, Bowling Green, Covington, Elizabethtown, Henderson, Hopkinsville, Lexington, Louisville, and Owensboro – received more than $303 million in their first tranche directly from Treasury in May. All non-entitlement communities receive funding based solely on population; however, cities cannot receive a total allocation that amounts to more than 75% of their pre-pandemic budget.
Twenty-nine KLC member cities have either not responded to DLG or declined ARPA funding. Cities have until July 27 to submit paperwork to DLG to still receive payment. After that date, nonresponsive cities cannot access either the first or second tranches of ARPA allocations.
