The Halifax County Board of Commissioners is seeking ideas from citizens on best public purpose uses of the $9.7 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds received by Halifax County.
Citizens will have the opportunity to provide their input through a variety of means.
An in-person public input session will be held on Wednesday, September 14, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Halifax County Agricultural Center Auditorium, 357 Ferrell Lane, in Halifax.
A virtual public input session will be held via Zoom the following week on Wednesday, September 21, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Join the Zoom Meeting from your computer by clicking this link
Enter the following Meeting ID: 919 704 1812.
https://www.rrspin.com/county-page/6346-county-sets-input-sessions-on-arpa-fund-uses.html#sigProId32f7766a31
Join the Zoom meeting by phone or use your phone for audio by dialing any of the following numbers: +1-267-831-0333 US (Philadelphia); +1-470-250-9358 US (Atlanta); +1-470-381-2552 US (Atlanta); +1-646-518-9805 US (New York); +1-786-635-1003 US (Miami); +1-929-436-2866 US (New York). Enter the following Meeting ID: 919 704 1812.
Citizens will be able to share their input during the Public Comment period at two Halifax County Board of Commissioners meetings: September 6 and October 3.
Both meetings will begin at 9:30 a.m. at the Halifax County Historic Courthouse, Commissioners Meeting Room, 2nd floor, 10 North King Street, Halifax, NC.
During all public input sessions (in-person, Zoom, Commissioners meetings), speakers will be given up to five minutes to present ideas for ARPA Enabled Projects or funding. The public is welcome to drop in or stay for the entire time. Speakers may be contacted to provide additional information.
Citizens may also submit their feedback via an online survey in addition to or in lieu of attending a public input session.
Access the online web feedback portal at this link or link to the online survey
On March 11, 2021, the American Rescue Plan Act was signed into law by President Biden. ARPA, a $1.9 trillion investment, established the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund.
This fund provides $350 billion to state, local, territorial, and tribal governments nationwide for Covid-19 pandemic recovery assistance.
Generally, eligible expenditures of ARPA funds fall into four broad categories:
PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY RESPONSE/ECONOMIC SUPPORT — Responding to the public health emergency or its negative economic impacts.
PREMIUM PAY — Expanding public sector capacity and providing premium pay to workers performing essential work during the COVID-19 public health emergency.
INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENTS — Investing in water, sewer, and broadband infrastructure.
REVENUE LOSS — Providing general government services to the extent of revenue loss due to the pandemic.
The Final Rule outlines several prohibited uses, including rainy day funds, debt service payments, Medicaid or CHIP program cost share, activities that undermine CDC public health guidance, violations of the federal uniform guidance, including conflict of interest rules and extraordinary pension contributions. The prohibition does not apply to pension contributions that are part of regular payroll contributions for employees whose wages and salaries are an eligible use of Recovery Funds.
Because Halifax County received less than $10 million, the county is able to take the standard allowance for revenue loss, meaning all of our ARPA funds are eligible for use as revenue replacement to cover budgeted eligible expenses (for example, certain salaries and benefits), thereby freeing up those budgeted county funds to undertake a wide range of projects not limited to just ARPA eligible projects.
If you are interested in learning more about the American Rescue Plan Act, consult the following additional resources: