American Rescue Plan Act

HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY RECOVERY PLANS

ARPA Community Support Request for Proposals

UPDATE 06/01/2023 - The Commissioners have completed their review of proposals and are finalizing award decisions. Agencies under consideration have been notified. A transfer of funds to cover the cost of the awards is subject to approval by, and will be presented to, the Executive Committee on June 20, 2023. The final list of awards will be posted following approval by all governing bodies.

Under this second round of ARPA community funding, the County received 55 proposals, totaling nearly $46M, to the approximately $8.5M available. Proposals received may be viewed through this shared folder on Google Drive: ARPA Track 2 Proposals. The original guidelines are available here RFP Guidelines.

The County previoulsy made funds available to non-profits under the first round of ARPA community fundng. Results from that first round, including the recommendations, applications and supporting documentation may be viewed on Google Drive. A total of $12,419,645 was awarded to 33 non-profit agencies to mitigate the negative economic and/or health effects of the virus. These funds will help agencies continue to serve some of the County's most vulnerable residents.

AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN ACT

The Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFR funds), a part of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), delivers $350 billion to state, local and Tribal governments across the county to support their response to and recovery from the COVID-19 public health emergency.

The SLRF program provides governments with the resources to:

• Fight the pandemic and support families and businesses struggling with its public health and economic impacts

• Maintain vital public services, even amid declines in revenues resulting from the crisis

• Build a strong, resilient, and equitable recovery by making investments that support long-term growth and opportunity

Hillsborough County has been allocated a total of $81,002,271* to aid in its recovery efforts. Funds may be used to:

Replace lost public sector revenue, to provide government services, up to the amount of revenue lost due to the pandemic or may opt to take a standard allowance not to exceed $10M for the term of the grant - the County has elected the standard allowance;
Respond to the far-reaching public health and negative economic impacts of the pandemic, by supporting the health of communities, and helping households, small businesses, impacted industries, nonprofits, and the public sector recover from economic impacts;
Provide premium pay for essential workers, offering additional support to those who have and will bear the greatest health risks because of their service in critical sectors;
Invest in water, sewer, and broadband infrastructure, making necessary investments to improve access to clean drinking water, to support vital wastewater and storm water infrastructure, and to expand affordable access to broadband internet.

The Coronavirus State and Local Recovery Funds provide substantial flexibility for each jurisdiction to meet local needs within these four separate eligible use categories.

*Additionally, the State will receive a total of $112M in SLFRF to distribute to NH non-metropolitan cities and towns (Non-Entitlement Units, or NEU's), this includes all NH municipalities except for Dover, Manchester, Nashua, Portsmouth and Rochester - these five cities have received direct SLFRF allocations from the U.S. Treasury.

For Towns and Cities who are classified as NEUs please visit the following link on how to apply: Local Fiscal Recovery Fund Program | Governor's Office for Emergency Relief and Recovery (nh.gov)

THE PATH FORWARD

Recognizing the need to invest SLRF Funds within the county departments and the community, the Hillsborough County Board of Commissioners has proposed two (2) phases to allocate funding:

Phase I, the Internal Needs Assessment and Allocation

Phase I will address critical priority issues with focus on County department needs in order ensure continuity of public service deliverables are still made during the pandemic and the recovery. This will be accomplished by focusing on:

Emergent funding for the pandemic response in the County departments.
Funding for strategic investments in County Department infrastructure & services

County Department projects may be found in the folders posted to this page. On April 6, 2022, the Board of Commissioners approved an update to the County's Recovery Plan that included an allocation of approximately $59M toward departmental projects. The County's operations inherently benefit all residents and these projects have a focus on improving services and technology, mitigating increased community violence, advancing equity, and mitigating & containing the spread of COVID-19, especially among vulnerable populations within the County's care. Department projects will be considered on a rolling basis, up to the ARPA obligation deadline.

Phase II, the Community Needs Assessment and Allocation

Phase II will deploy ARPA funds within the community, focusing on areas within the scope and purview of the responsibilities and functions of Hillsborough County government. The County utilized existing studies, recent surveys, and consulted with community stakeholders to identify potential transformative initiatives within County functions in the community. Discussions and public comment were accepted at Board of Commissioner meetings.

The BOC approved an update to the County's Recovery Plan that included approximately $21M to assist community entities, separated into two rounds of funding.

Track One - estimated $15M-$19M; Assistance to nonprofits that experienced a direct negative health or economic impact resulting from the COVID-19 public health emergency (released June 7, 2022)
Track Two - estimated $1M-$6M; Assistance to entities providing services to eligible HC residents experiencing a negative health or economic impact resulting from the COVID-19 public health emergency; grants for other eligible ARPA activities as listed in the Final Rule.

Timeline for SLRF Funds

(This timeline will be updated as the Program continues to be implemented)

Timeframe	Action
Fall 2021	ARPA Program administration design phase. Following an RFP process for a consultant, the County determined a temporary employee position would be more advantageous.
Fall - Winter 2021	Development of ARPA policies and procedures, internal forms, tracking systems; eligibility review of HC Department proposals.
Winter 2021	Board considered and approved certain Department proposals, focusing on pandemic response and strategic investments in County Department infrastructure and services to immediately respond to the pandemic. Approved proposals moved forward to HC Executive Committee for consideration/approval of appropriation transfer.
Winter 2021 - Spring 2022	Community engagement, identification of potential community funding needs. Develop application/grant process for outside entities to apply for funds.
Early Spring 2022	Remaining HC Department proposals including capital improvement projects, presented through the annual budget process to obtain Board of Commissioners, Executive Committee and Delegation approvals as required by law.
Late Spring 2022	Community assistance applications released to non-profits. Due date July 1, 2022.
Summer 2022	Review committee examines and recommends Round 1 funding for non-profits to the BOC. BOC will consider award amounts, forward plan to Executive Committee. Successful applicants will enter into an Agreement with the County in order to receive funds.
Fall 2022 - Winter 2022	Round 2 funding for community entities to be released. BOC will consider proposals directly and forward to Executive Committee as required.

As the landscape of the pandemic changes, Hillsborough County will revisit the focus under Phase I and Phase II concurrently as needed. The use and focus of SLFR Funds may change and adapt to the landscape. Priority will continue to be to address and respond to the immediate needs and negative effects of the COVID-19 public health crisis within the County.

THE PUBLIC IS ENCOURAGED TO PERIODICALLY REVISIT THIS PAGE FOR UPDATES AND ARE ENCOURAGED TO READ THE BOARD OF COMMISSIONER MEETING MINUTES FOR A STATUS ON THE AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN FUNDS.

ARPA DOCUMENTS

HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY RECOVERY PLANS

QUICK LINKS

ARPA Documents