2022 ARPA FundsNEWSPAPER - 4 TIMES
12/07/2021
12/10/2021
Public Notice
Notice is hereby given that the City of Blair will hold a public hearing at the December 14, 2021,
Council meeting starting at 7:00 p.m. to take comments on the use of the City's VA million in
American Rescue Plan (ARPA) funds. The Council meeting will be held in the City Council meeting
room at 218 South 16'' Street, in Blair, Nebraska.
ARPA funds can be used for projects that fit into four primary project categories. 1). Public Health
and Economic Impacts that respond to the public health emergency with respect to COVID — 19 or
its negative economic impacts 2). Premium Pay to eligible workers performing essential work during
the COVID —19 public health emergency 3). Revenue loss by grantees that experience budget short
falls due to the COVID — 19 due to public health emergency 4). Investments in infrastructure that
protect and enhance safe drinking water through investments in water, wastewater and investments
to enhance broadband.
For a full and detail explanation of potential uses of ARPA funds a copy of the Department of the
Treasury Interim final rule, 31 CFR Part 35 RIN 1505-AC77 can be found on the City Web site at
blairnebraska.org.
Further the City of Blair will take comments on the City's intent to use all ARPA funds the City
receives to make improvements to the City water treatment plant and or possible expansion of the
water treatment plant to make necessary investments to continue to provide safe drinking and usable
water for residents, businesses, and industry at reasonable and affordable rates for all, while promoting
a green environment through energy conserving improvements to the water plant.
Note to City Council — Use of City's ARPA Funds
Staff will be proposing that the City move forward with securing design and bidding for the use
of the City's $1.4 million of ARPA funds to make improvements to the City's water treatment
facility. These improvements will enhance the plant infrastructure to promote energy efficiency
and water quality, particularly during times of high demand and or times of high turbidity.
Project 1: Energy efficiency— Agreement with Omaha Public Power District (OPPD) - $200,000
Project 2: Design/bid/construct
Replace two of four lime feeders
$600,000
Replace three up flow mixers, motors, and gear boxes
$60,000
Turbidity Counters and ammonia analyzer
$60,000
New control panel for filters 1— 4
$100,000
Replace filter Media in four filter bays
$400,000
Design/Bidding
$100,000
Total
$1,320,000
Project 3: Expansion of Water treatment Plant $30,000,000
Total projects 1, 2, and 3 $31,520,000
0 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
This section provides an orientation on recipients' compliance responsibilities and Treasury's
expectations and recommended best practices where appropriate under the SLFRF program.
Recipients under the SLFRF program are the eligible entities identified in sections 602 and
603 of the Social Security Act,as added by section 9901 of the American Rescue, Plan Act of
2021 (the "SLFRF statute") that receive a SLFRF award. Subrecipients under the SLFRF
program are entities that receive a subaward from a recipient to carry out the purposes
(program or project) of the SLFRF award on behalf of the recipient.
Recipients are accountable to Treasury for oversight of their subrecipients, including ensuring "
their subrecipients comply with the SLFRF statute, SLFRF Award Terms and Conditions,
Treasury's Interim Final Rule, and reporting requirements, as applicable. -
A. Key Principles
There are several guiding principles for developing your own effective compliance regimes:
• Recipients and subrecipients are the first line of defense, and responsible for ensuring the
SLFRF award funds are not used for ineligible purposes, and there is no fraud, waste, and
abuse associated with their SLFRF award;
• Many SLFRF-funded projects respond to the COVID-19 public health emergency and
meet urgent community needs. Swift and effective implementation is vital, and recipients
must balance facilitating, simple and rapid program access widely across the community
and maintaining a robust' documentation and compliance regime;
• SLFRF-funded projects should advance shared interests and promote equitable delivery
of government benefits and opportunities to underserved communities, as outlined in,
Executive Order 13985; ,On Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved
Communities Through the Federal Government; and
• Transparency and public accountability for SLFRF award funds and use of such funds are
critical to upholding program integrity and trust in all levels of government, and SLFRF
award funds should be managed consistent with Administration guidance per
Memorandum M-21-20 and Memorandum M-20-21.
B. Statutory Eligible Uses,
As a recipient of an SLFRF award, your organization has substantial discretion to use the
award funds in the ways that best suit the needs of your constituents — as long as such use
fits into one of the following four statutory categories:
1. To respond to the COVID-19 public health emergency or its negative economic impacts;
2. To respond to workers performing essential work during the COVID-19 public health
emergency by providing premium pay to such eligible workers of the recipient, or by
providing grants to eligible employers that have eligible workers who performed essential
work;
3. For the provision of government services, to the extent of the reduction in revenue of such
recipient due to the COVID-19 public health emergency, relative to revenues collected in
the most recent full fiscal year of the recipient prior to the emergency; and
4. To make necessary investments in water, sewer, or broadband infrastructure.
Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds
Compliance and Reporting Guidance
0U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
Treasury adopted an Interim Final Rule to implement these eligible use categories and other
restrictions on the use of funds under the SLFRF programa It is the recipient's responsibility
to ensure all SLFRF award funds are used in compliance with these requirements. In addition,
recipients should be mindful of any additional compliance obligations that may apply — for
example, additional restrictions imposed upon other sources of funds used in conjunction with
SLFRF award funds, or statutes and regulations that may independently apply to water,
broadband, and sewer infrastructure projects. Recipients should ensure they maintain proper
documentation supporting determinations of costs and applicable compliance requirements,
and how they have been satisfied as part of their award management, internal controls, and
subrecipient oversight and management.
C. Treasury's Rule
Treasury's Interim Final Rule details recipients' compliance responsibilities and provides,
additional information on eligible and restricted uses of SLFRF award funds and reporting
requirements. Your organization should review and comply with the information contained in
Treasury's Interim Final Rule, and any subsequent final rule when building appropriate
controls for SLFRF award funds.
1. Eligible and Restricted Uses of SLFRF Funds. As described in the SLFRF statute and
summarized above,, there are four enumerated eligible uses of SLFRF award funds. As a
recipient of an award under the SLFRF program, your organization is responsible for
complying with requirements for the use of funds. In addition to determining a given
project's eligibility, recipients are also responsible for determining subrecipient's or
beneficiaries' eligibility and must monitor use of SLFRF award funds.
To help recipients, build a greater understanding of eligible uses, Treasury's Interim Final
Rule establishes a framework for determining whether a specific project would be eligible
under the SLFRF program, including some helpful definitions. For example, Treasury's
Interim Final Rule establishes:
• A framework for determining whether a project "responds to" a "negative economic
impact" caused by the COVID-19 public health emergency;
• Definitions of "eligible employers", "essential work," "eligible workers", and "premium
pay" for cases where premium pay is an eligible use;
• A definition of "general revenue" and a formula for calculating revenue lost due to the
COVID-19 public health emergency;
• A framework for eligible water and sewer infrastructure projects that aligns eligible uses
with projects that are eligible under the Environmental Protection Agency's Drinking
Water and Clean Water State Revolving Funds; and
• A framework for eligible broadband projects designed to provide service to unserved
or underserved households, or businesses at speeds sufficient to enable users to
generally meet household needs, including the ability to support the simultaneous 'use
of work, education, and health applications, and also sufficiently robust to meet
increasing household demands for bandwidth.
Treasury's Interim Final Rule also provides more information on four important restrictions
on use of SLFRF award .funds: recipients may not deposit SLFRF funds into a pension
fund; recipients that are States or territories may not use SLFRF funds to offset a reduction
in net tax revenue caused by the recipient's change in law, regulation, or administrative
' Treasury's Interim Final Rule is effective as of May 17, 2021, and public comments are due July 16,
2021. This guidance may be clarified consistent with the final rule.
https://www.govinfo.gov/content/i)kg/FR-2021-05-17/pdf/2021-10283. pdf
Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds
Compliance and Reporting Guidance