Now equipped with the final guidelines, Jefferson City is ready for conversations about how to spend its American Rescue Plan (ARPA) funds.
Jefferson City received the first half of its $7.5 million ARPA allocation in June, and the rest is scheduled to come in the next couple months. The City Council allocated $790,917.60 in ARPA funds to stormwater projects in the 2022 budget, but the rest remains up in the air.
In August, City Administrator Steve Crowell said staff was proceeding with caution because the city only had initial rules on acceptable uses for the funds.
While Cole County officials went ahead with forming a community- based advisory committee for using its ARPA funds, Jefferson City waited to get final guidance before starting a public discussion on potential uses.
However, that final guidance just came out and goes into effect April 1. Crowell said waiting was the right decision for the city since the final rule made a significant change, which will give Jefferson City more flexibility for the funds.
Under a formula in the initial guidance, Jefferson City didn't have any revenue loss, he said, and if you have revenue loss "that money could be used in a very flexible manner."
However, the final rule does away with the revenue loss formula and instead allows agencies that flexibility with funds up to $10 million, Crowell said.
Since Jefferson City isn't receiving $10 million, it can use the funds "pretty much as you want to," Crowell said. However, he said, these guidelines still provide building blocks and parameters for the conversation.
The state can still place restrictions on ARPA funds it will release as grants, which the city can apply to receive. Crowell said the city can use that $7.5 million for matching funds for those grants, which would mean the project needs to meet any criteria added by the state.
However, he doesn't know what those might be or the state might release them.
The city will follow an aspect of the guidelines Crowell characterized as "a suggestion, if not a requirement" of including the public in conversations about how to use the funds.
The plan, approved by the Finance Committee on Thursday, is for the City Council to schedule a public work session where anybody can come speak on what needs they see for the funding.
Ward 5 Councilman Jon Hensley recommended council members invite certain individuals or groups who "we think should be heard in that setting." He said there might be a need for multiple public work sessions on the topic, depending on how things go.
The funding doesn't need to be allocated until 2024 or spent until 2026, which means the city has time to plan how to use the funds.
While that means they don't need to rush, Hensley said, he also doesn't want to just sit on the money until then.
After the public work session, city staff will put together a report. Hensley said the council may need another work session focused on detailing uses.
The committee also discussed inviting Cole County officials to the public work session along with the county's advisory committee for input on issues they see and potential city-county projects for the funds.
For those interested in learning more about the final rule, the city put a 44-page summary from the U.S. Department of the Treasury on its website under the finance section.
Crowell said city staff will also present an overview at the public work sessions before opening it up for comments.