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A resolution appropriating $517,000 in American Rescue Plan Act funds from Fund #30216 to offset Covid-19 Financial Oversight Committee and staff administrative expenses, and to expand the use of the existing American Rescue Plan Act funds currently allocated to public emergency response to include telework and information technology expenses.
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WHEREAS, on June 15, 2021, the Metropolitan Council passed Resolution RS2021-966, a resolution which accepted grant funds for local government support from the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds established by the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (“ARP Funds”) from the U.S. Department of the Treasury to The Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County, which was subsequently signed into law by Mayor John Cooper on June 16, 2021; and,
WHEREAS, Resolution RS2021-966 established a COVID-19 Financial Oversight Committee ("the Committee") whose role is to collect, consider, and recommend appropriate uses of the ARP Funds as designated by the Metropolitan Council disbursement plan. The Committee will submit its reports and recommendations to the Mayor, the Director of Finance, and the Metropolitan Council not later than June 30, 2025; and,
WHEREAS, there are federal requirements for use of ARP Funds that require that these funds be expended or obligated on or before December 31, 2024; and,
WHEREAS, on June 7, 2022, Metro Council approved RS2022-1558, which included a $398,000.00 allocation for administrative expenses necessary to the operation of the COVID-19 Financial Oversight Committee; and,
WHEREAS, RS2022-1558 included an acknowledgement that RS2022-1558 only partially satisfied the necessary administrative expenses to date and that the Committee may recommend further administrative expense allocations as ARP Funds became available, including any additional expenditures accruing after passage of RS2022-1558; and,
WHEREAS, the Committee recognizes that the expenses outlined in Exhibit A reflect Metropolitan Government administrative expenditures necessary to the operation of the Committee; and,
WHEREAS, it is to the benefit of the citizens of The Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County that this resolution be approved.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE METROPOLITAN GOVERNMENT OF NASHVILLE AND DAVIDSON COUNTY:
Section 1. The Metropolitan Council accepts this resolution as a recommendation of the COVID-19 Financial Oversight Committee.
Section 2. That $ 517,000.00 from the Covid-19 American Rescue Plan Fund #30216 is hereby approved for administrative use as outlined in Exhibit A.
Section 3. That the ARP Fund allocation approved by the Metropolitan Council through RS2021-1206 be expanded to include telework and information technology needs.
Section 4. This resolution shall take effect from and after its final passage, the welfare of the public requiring it.
Agenda Analysis
Analysis
This resolution appropriates $326,800 in American Rescue Plan Act (“ARP”) funds from Fund #30216 to offset COVID-19 Financial Oversight Committee and staff administrative expenses.
On June 7, 2022, Metro Council approved RS2022-1558, which included a $398,000 allocation for administrative expenses necessary for the operation of the COVID-19 Financial Oversight Committee. The resolution acknowledged that the funding only partially satisfied the necessary administrative expenses to date and that the Committee may recommend further administrative expense allocations as ARP Funds became available, including any additional expenditures.
In June 2022, the COVID-19 Financial Oversight Committee estimated the total cost of the staffing compensation and benefits, third party consultants, external legal support, banking fees, and miscellaneous expenses to be $915,000 through December 31, 2027. The first resolution appropriated $398,000. This resolution appropriates the remaining $517,000.
Fiscal Note: This $517,000 appropriation, along with the appropriations per Resolution No. RS2023-1947, RS2023-1948, RS2023-1949, and RS2023-1952 would be the 45th, 46th, 47th, 48th, and 49th resolutions appropriating from the American Recovery Plan Act (ARP) Fund for a cumulative total of $251,791,030. The total grant award is $259,810,600. The first half of this amount was received in July 2021 and the second half was received in July 2022. The grant award must be obligated by December 31, 2024 and expended by December 31, 2026.