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A resolution appropriating $75,000 in American Rescue Plan Act funds from Fund #30216 to the Nashville Voluntary Organization Active in Disasters (VOAD) coalition for a pilot program to engage the community in emergency preparedness.
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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, the Committee recognizes the importance of providing proper financial support to the city’s emergency nonprofit partners, who shepherd the city through its unforeseen crises; and,
WHEREAS, the Committee recognizes the value of VOAD’s proposed pilot program, as described in Exhibit A, and seeks to expand the proposed allocation for the requested $50,000.00 to a $75,000.00 appropriation, which will fund the program through June 30, 2024, with the hope that the program will be permanently sustained by an annual Metro allocation; 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 $75,000 from the Covid-19 American Rescue Plan Fund #30216 is hereby appropriated to VOAD to be used to administer the program described in Exhibit A.
Section 3. This resolution shall take effect from and after its final passage, the welfare of the public requiring it.
Agenda Analysis
Analysis
This resolution appropriates $75,000 in American Rescue Plan Act (“ARP”) funds from Fund #30216 to the Nashville Voluntary Organization Active in Disasters (“VOAD”) coalition for a pilot program to engage the community in emergency preparedness.
VOAD is a coalition of nonprofits, community organizations, faith-based institutions, and government departments who work together to ensure effective response to disasters. VOAD proposes using $75,000 for a preparedness pilot. This includes risk assessment, planning, preparation, and evaluation. The program would bring speakers to members and nonmembers, expand the VOAD website to make the community more aware of available resources, provide training on specific topics related to disaster response, and host a preparedness council to include community leaders. The appropriation would fund the pilot program through June 30, 2024.
Fiscal Note: This $75,000 appropriation, along with the appropriations per Resolution No. RS2023-1947, RS2023-1949, RS2023-1952, and RS2023-1950 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.