On March 11, 2021, the president signed the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) into law. The Coronavirus State & Local Fiscal Recovery Fund (SLFRF) was established under ARPA and Sarasota County, along with every county, metropolitan city, and non-entitlement units of governments, is an eligible recipient of SLFRF funding as administered by the U.S. Treasury.  

Funding Amount

Eligible county and metropolitan cities will receive a direct allocation of SLFRF funding from the U.S. Treasury based on a population formula methodology. Non-entitlement units of governments will receive the funding through their respective states and territories. According to U.S. Treasury allocations, Sarasota County is expected to receive a total of $84,249,299.00 in SLFRF for eligible uses.

In addition, the SLFRF will be released by the U.S. Treasury in two payments. As of June 7, 2021, Sarasota County has received the first payment, $42,124,649.50, of SLFRF and received the second payment, $42,124,649.50, on June 9, 2022.

*As of June 30, 2024

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Eligible Uses

According to the U.S. Treasury, SLFRF is intended to provide more general fiscal relief over a broader timeline. This is different from that of the CARES Act, which was intended to be used to meet relatively short-term needs.

To support the general fiscal relief nature of these funds, the ARPA identified four broad uses:

Public Health and Economic Impacts: Measures taken to continue to respond to COVID-19 and address the negative economic impacts of the virus.

Investments in Infrastructure: Meeting the critical needs for investments and improvements to existing infrastructure in water, sewer and broadband.

Revenue Loss: Provision of general government services to the extent of the reduction in revenue experience due to the COVID-19 public health emergency.

Premium Pay: Provision of premium pay to eligible workers performing essential work during the COVID-19 public health emergency.

To enact these ARPA funding uses by recipients, a full list of non-exhaustive examples and additional eligibility criteria can be located within the U.S. Treasury Interim Final Rule (IFR) and associated Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ), both of which are available on the U.S. Treasury website.

On January 6, 2022, the U.S. Treasury released the “Final Rule” which will become effective April 1, 2022. A link to the Final Rule may be accessed here.

Funding Requirements

SLFRF recipients must commit costs toward project(s) and/or program(s) by Dec. 31, 2024 and must fully expend funds on the identified project(s) and/or program(s) by Dec. 31, 2026. Any funds not committed by Dec. 31, 2024 and not expended to cover such obligations by Dec. 31, 2026 will be returned to the U.S. Treasury.

Recovery Plan Performance Report

Eligible recipients with a population that exceeds 250,000 residents are required to prepare and submit an annual Recovery Plan Performance Report. The Recovery Plan Performance Report will provide the public and the U.S. Treasury information on the projects that recipients are undertaking with program funding and how they are planning to ensure project outcomes are achieved in an effective, efficient and equitable manner. Further, recipients are required to post this plan on a public-facing website.

The initial Recovery Plan Performance Report will cover the period from the date of the award to July 31, 2021 and must be submitted to the U.S. Treasury by Aug. 31, 2021. Thereafter, the annual Recovery Plan Performance report will cover a 12-month period (e.g. July 1, 202X to June 30, 202X) and must be submitted to the U.S. Treasury by July 31, 202X.

To access each of Sarasota County’s Recovery Plan Performance Report as they are completed, please navigate to the Documents section at the bottom of the page.

Click Timeline to Enlarge.  As additional major milestones and actions are completed, this list will be updated.

Contact

Steve Hyatt, Program Manager 

(941) 315-5187 | ARPA@scgov.net

301 N. Cattlemen Rd., Ste 200, Sarasota, FL 34232