Newtown Residents Want to Know How ARP Funds Are Being/Will Be Spent
[UPDATED 7/2/2023]
- About the American Rescue Plan
- According to Residents, What SHOULD the Money Be Used For?
- Residents' Comments
- My Comments on Proposed ARPA Capital Spending
- How Have the Funds Been Spent So Far?
Introduction
At the August 11, 2021, Newtown Township Board of Supervisors (BOS) meeting, Newtown Friends Home & Village Board Chairman Terry Christiansen asked if there is a process in place whereby non-profit groups such as his can apply for a share of the $1,024,920.93 American Rescue Plan (ARP) funds that the township has received. Mr. Christiansen noted that the cost of COVID mitigation efforts incurred by the Friends Village was significant.
To answer Mr. Christensen's question, to date (July 2, 2023), there is no such procedure yet in place for non-profits to request a share of ARP funds that Newtown Township has in the bank. See more uses of the funds desired by residents...
About the American Rescue Plan
The intent of ARP is to allocate money for several initiatives, including funds for local municipalities to bolster the economy and support not-for-profits in the local community that had been severely impacted during the COVID pandemic. Download a fact sheet on the 151 page regulation, which provides guidance about eligible uses of the funds.
The Township CAN spend these funds on:
- Response to COVID-19 emergency or negative economic impacts. This includes, but is not limited to, assistance for households, small businesses, non-profits (including volunteer fire companies whose fundraising may have taken a hit during COVID-19), and aid to impacted industries such as tourism, travel, and hospitality.
- Premium pay for essential workers. Can pay a bonus to workers. Up to $25K each. Could be paid in a lump sum as long as you don’t violate $13/hour rule. Public and private employees. “Essential workers only”. Backpay is most likely ok. Fire Company block grants, police - ok.
- Lost revenue replacement. The revenue deficit must be as a direct result of COVID-19, and could apply from 2020 through 2024. 2019 is used as the “base year” with which to compare revenues. Applies to tax revenue, liquid fuels, etc.
- Infrastructure investment. Drinking water, storm water, sewer, broadband hot spots. Also Roadways and Bridges: Boston, Massachusetts, for example, allocated $2 million of the city’s APRA funds to implement neighborhood traffic calming street design to enforce safe driving behaviors. The funds will be used to update safety features, such as curb extensions, raised crosswalks and the application of speed humps to slow drivers down to 20 miles per hour in neighborhoods.
- Can use for construction for larger meeting space or technology for remote meetings.
- If Township-owned parks were impacted due to COVID-19 (more use), you could use to repair/maintain them.
Final Rule Relaxes Reporting Requirements
On January 20, 2022, the PA State Association of Township Supervisors (PSATS) hosted a webinar to summarize the Treasury Department's final rule governing the use of American Rescue Plan (ARP) funds by townships.
The final rule contains significant new flexibility by allowing townships to opt for a standard lost revenues allowance of $10 million to be used for general government purposes. Learn more about this.
What SHOULD the Money Be Used For?
I'm sure there will be a long line of requests for these funds and Newtown Supervisors will have to weigh all the options. Most importantly, in my opinion, are the opinions of township residents. Consequently, I started a survey in April, 2021, to gauge the opinions of residents. The following is a summary of results to date (September 10, 2021) based on 433 responses from Newtown Township residents (out of a total of 477 responses).
The summary of survey results, organized by rating (choices with the highest ratings at top) is shown in above chart. Another way of looking at the data is shown in chart below.
Resident Comments, Including Other Desired Uses
See ALL comments submitted by survey respondents here or embedded below:
My Comments on Proposed ARPA Capital Spending
Back in February 2022, Newtown supervisors were asked to submit comments on the Township Manager’s priorities regarding recommendations for the use of ARP/ARPA funds for capital improvements. The following my comments at the time on a few items in the list, which you can find here or embedded below. I gave each recommendation a PRIORITY RATING: 5 (high), 1 (low), 0 (not recommended at all).
Software for finance and codes departments: I am NOT in favor of spending $100,000 to pay this upfront to avoid financing. Let’s keep to our decision to finance this purchase as per the budget and use the $100,000 for other needs such as upgrades to meeting room A/V and Sycamore Street improvements
PRIORITY LEVEL: 0
Upgrades to public meeting room A/V system: This seems to be focused solely on “meeting productions.” I’m not sure what that means. What is needed is better sound quality in the room, higher resolution cameras for live streaming via Youtube and cable TV, replacing microphones WITHOUT tiny speakers (current mic/speaker combo causes annoying feedback), workstations for each supervisor, etc. In addition, I think we need to implement truly hybrid meetings. Therefore, I am in favor of bumping spending on this to $200,000 and requiring competitive bidding. In addition, we should use money from cable franchise fees to help pay for these and further improvements down the road. This is a common practice of other municipalities. Since then, supervisors have been given Chromebooks.
PRIORITY LEVEL: 5
Replacement of 2003 Street Sweeper: Although this sweeper is old and costs $20K per year in repairs, I think it would be better to finance the purchase of this item and cut the ARP contribution toward that to $150,000 ($50,000 per year) and then budget for the financing afterward. In March 2023, the supervisors approved the purchase of a new sweeper for $292,882.75.
PRIORITY LEVEL: 2.5
Replacement of boilers in administration and public works facilities: If the boiler accounts for only about 1/3 of the $30,000 or so in yearly HVAC repairs and maintenance, it would take 8 years to pay back the $80,000 in investment in a new boiler. I just question the financial wisdom of paying $80,000 to save $10,000 per year. I need to know more: How old is the boiler? What maintenance fee are we paying? If we get a new boiler, will it come with a warranty/maintenance agreement to cover costs of repairs? Without the answers to those questions, I would have to give this a non-committal priority rating.
PRIORITY LEVEL: 2.5
See ALL my comments here or embedded below:
How Have the Funds Been Spent So Far?
As of April 13, 2023, the Board of Supervisors has spent, obligated to spend or budgeted to be spent an estimated $2,077,488 of ARPA funds according the following table supplied to supervisors:
The data from the May 2023 Treasurer's Report indicates that as of the end of that month the fund unspent balance is $1,344,436.76
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