The American Rescue Plan and the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund (ARPA)

On March 11, 2021, President Joe Biden signed the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (H.R. 1319) into law. The $1.9 trillion package, based on President Biden's American Rescue Plan, is intended to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, including public health and economic impacts.

As part of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, the $362 billion Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund provides local fiscal aid to support urgent COVID-19 response efforts, cover increased expenditures, replenish lost revenue and mitigate economic harm from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The distribution of the $362 billion is allocated as follows:

States Fiscal Recovery Fund ($219.8 billion)
Local Fiscal Recovery Fund ($130.2 billion)
Coronavirus Capital Projects ($10 billion)
Local Assistance and Tribal Consistency Fund ($2 billion)

Funds may cover costs from March 3, 2021 through Dec. 24, 2024.

Distributing ARPA Funds

During FY 2021-22 budget hearings, the Board of Supervisors approved a process for the distribution of ARPA funds. This plan calls for funding to be distributed in three primary areas:

1. Funding for COVID-19 pandemic response
2. Funding for strategic investments in County departmental services
3. Funding for direct community support

Board of Supervisors action on ARPA funding

June 18, 2021

Board allocated approximately $20 million to fund ongoing COVID-19 response costs, and set a timeline for the other funding distributions. See details

July 27, 2021

Board received an update on the process for distributing funding directly to the community. See details

Sept. 14, 2021

Board reviewed preliminary departmental proposals for ARPA funding and determined that feedback from the community should be heard prior to selection of departmental proposals. See details

Nov. 2, 2021

Board received an update on ARPA funding plan implementation, received presentations and reports on COVID-19 economic impact, and authorized the Human Services Department director to execute a contract with the selected winner of the request for proposals for the Enterprise Resource Planning System. See details

Dec. 14, 2021

Board allocated funding to specific departmental proposals and community funding areas; approved community investment buckets based on community need; and approved timeline, evaluation, selection and award process for community investment awards, including community-based proposals and departmental proposals based on community need. See details and Press release

April 5, 2022

Expanding the Upstream Investments’ Shared outcomes measurement system to include American Rescue Plan Act outcome tracking. See details

May 24, 2022

Approval of ARPA Community Resilience Programs Funding Plan. See details and Press Release

Sonoma County's Share of the State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund

Sonoma County is receiving a direct allocation of $96 million. The first half of these funds were received in 2021, and the second half will be received in 2022.

The County of Sonoma may use the funds to:

Support public health expenditures related to the COVID-19 pandemic
Address negative economic impacts caused by the public health emergency
Serve low income communities and individuals, families and businesses hardest-hit by the pandemic
Provide premium pay for essential workers
Replace public sector revenue lost due to the pandemic
Invest in necessary improvements to water, sewer, and broadband infrastructure

Federal Guidance About the Use of the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund

Resources

Past Community Engagement

Community Meet and Greet and ARPA Networking Meetings

Watch the recording of the ARPA Meet and Greet held on January 20th. The purpose was to bring together businesses, agencies, and community-based organizations to seed collaboration. During these meetings attended by over 200 participants (hosted in the morning and evening), we received multiple requests to host further networking opportunities. We then created six more ARPA Networking Meetings from Feb. 8^th-Feb. 24^th to further support relationship building and collaboration.

ARPA Community Meet and Greet Presentation

Presentación de la Reunión de ARPA Comunitaria

ARPA Town Halls

Watch recordings of the five American Rescue Plan Act community town hall meetings, below. You can also see the presented materials in English and Spanish here.

September 23, 6 - 8pm (District 3 - Supervisor Coursey): Watch the recording
October 4, 5:30 - 7:30pm (District 1 - Supervisor Gorin): Watch the recording
October 7, 5:30-7:30pm (District 5-Supervisor Hopkins): Not available
October 13, 6 - 8pm (District 2 - Supervisor Rabbitt): Watch the recording Part 1 & Part 2
October 20, 5:30-7:30pm (District 4 - Supervisor Gore): Watch the recording

ARPA Priority Funding Survey

Thank you for your input on the ARPA priority funding areas outlined by the federal government. The information was used to inform the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors to set ARPA funding priorities.

County of Sonoma ARPA Community Work Group

The ARPA Community Work Group will support the equitable distribution of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds by elevating the experiences and needs of the low income communities and communities of color most disproportionately impacted by COVID-19.

Learn more

Opportunity to Provide Feedback

Participants who attended ARPA Town Halls were asked to provide feedback on a set of questions in breakout groups. These same questions were posted here to reach an even broader audience. Input from these questions was also used to inform the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors to set ARPA funding priorities.

Community Outreach Results

Through a combined process of seeking survey input, holding town halls, convening listening sessions with promotor groups, and feedback from the Equity Work Group, three local priorities for funding emerged:

Disparities in public health outcomes
Negative economic impacts on households and individuals
Need to expand and fortify broadband access

The community also identified a need for rapid cash assistance to those most affected by COVID-19, especially people who were not eligible to receive the full amount of the federal stimulus payments