American Rescue Plan Update

April 26, 2021

The U.S. Department of the Treasury released information about the requirements for cities to receive their American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds. Although Treasury has not yet released allocation amounts, cities may need to act before receiving their money.

Treasury will provide Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund money directly to entitlement communities — Ashland, Bowling Green, Covington, Elizabethtown, Henderson, Hopkinsville, Lexington, Louisville, and Owensboro. The Kentucky Department for Local Government (DLG) will allocate money to all other Kentucky cities. By law, Treasury must provide the funds to entitlement communities and DLG by May 10, 2021. DLG then has no more than 30 days to distribute the money to non-entitlement cities.

To ensure your city receives its funding in a timely manner, you may need to take certain actions before funds are available. Cities will need the following to access their funds:

• DUNS number – This unique nine-character number is used to identify an organization. Dun & Bradstreet issues the number, and the federal government uses the DUNS number to track federal allocations. The number is free, and your city may already have one. If you do not have a valid DUNS number, go here or call 1-866-705-5711 to begin the registration process. The process may take a few business days.
• SAM registration – As opposed to entitlement communities, thus far the official requirements do not explicitly state that non-entitlement units of local government must register with the System for Award Management (SAM). All federal financial assistance recipients must register on SAM.gov and renew their registration annually, so even non-entitlement communities may need to register. Registration is free, and your city may already maintain a registration. If you do not have a current SAM registration, go here to get started. The process may take up to three weeks.
• Financial information – The city will need to be ready to submit various financial documents, if needed. This will likely include:
  • Entity Identification Number (EIN), name, and contact information;
  • Name and title of an authorized representative of the entity; and
  • Financial institution name, contact information, and routing and account numbers.

Treasury will release program guidance and the final allocations for the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund in the coming weeks.

You can view preliminary KLC estimates for city allocations here. Please note that more recent allocation figures provided by national groups contain several errors and omissions, which inflate the allocation figures for most Kentucky cities. You can go here to learn more about how cities can use the funds.

Additional federal guidance will be posted here. KLC will keep you updated when the U.S. Department of the Treasury releases more guidance and final allocations.