Federal Assistance e311 Knowledge Base

Our team of experts has already answered over 200 questions from cities across the country—about the streams of federal funding available to support your city’s COVID recovery, best-in-class strategies and practices for accessing and spending it, technical requirements for compliance, and more. Browse the questions and answers, or search for a topic or keyword to get straight to the information your city needs.

Topic

Topic

Expenditure

Expenditure
Due Diligence & Fraud Protection, American Rescue Plan Act, CARES Act, FEMA, HUD, Infrastructure Investments and Jobs Act

What are some of the best practices for our municipality when receiving complaints regarding fraud and waste? What are some of the appropriate investigatory steps that we should be taking when we receive them?

Federal Funding Streams, American Rescue Plan Act, HUD

How can my municipality efficiently utilize the funding provided by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Minority Health in the new program Advancing Health Literacy to Enhance Equitable Community Responses to COVID-19?

Federal Funding Streams, Tax Credits, American Rescue Plan Act, FEMA

Do COVID-19-related tax credits for paid leave align or correlate with Stafford Act/FEMA funding or the American Rescue Plan Act?

Federal Funding Streams, American Rescue Plan Act, CARES Act, FEMA, HUD, Infrastructure Investments and Jobs Act

How can a municipality maximize its recovery across multiple federal funding sources?

Vaccine Distribution, American Rescue Plan Act, CARES Act, FEMA

Which funding source(s) should a municipality consider for use regarding vaccine-related expenses?

Timing of Funds, American Rescue Plan Act, CARES Act, FEMA, HUD, Infrastructure Investments and Jobs Act

How can municipalities ensure that received funds reach the public as quickly as possible while making a long-term impact?

Lost Revenue & Revenue Replacement, American Rescue Plan Act, CARES Act

Can a municipality use CRF or another funding source to subsidize revenue loss from metered parking used for outdoor dining?

Federal Funding Streams, Premium & Hazard Pay, American Rescue Plan Act, CARES Act

May municipalities use funds from the CARES Act CRF or the ARP CLFRF to support administrative hiring costs (including immigration paperwork and filing fees) related to personnel who were hired for and are funded by COVID-19 grants?

Due Diligence & Fraud Protection, American Rescue Plan Act, CARES Act, FEMA, HUD, Infrastructure Investments and Jobs Act

What due diligence should a municipality conduct on federal funding grantees?

Fund Planning & Allocation, American Rescue Plan Act

Is hazard pay an allowable expense under Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (“ESSER”) II or III?

 

Terms of Use

All information provided on this website is subject to the Terms of Use outlined below. Please review the Terms of Use carefully.

The information on this website is provided by Bloomberg Philanthropies. The information is free and is intended to be helpful as a guide to the user/municipality’s identification, receipt and retention of federal COVID-19 aid. The information on this website is not intended to be relied upon as the sole source of your or your municipality’s decision making and is not designed to take into account the various details necessary for a particular user/municipality to take a particular action. The information on this website does not recommend a particular strategy or tactic or course of action a user/municipality should take regarding COVID-19 aid. The information on this website is not created or endorsed by the Johns Hopkins University.

Nothing contained on this website constitutes legal, business, tax or other advice. Users/municipalities should consult your professional advisers for legal, business, tax, planning, strategic or other advice before taking any action. Use of the information on this website does not create a client relationship with any of the entities involved in the operation of this site or the creation of its content, including Bloomberg Associates, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Ernst & Young LLP, Hagerty Consulting, Inc., Johns Hopkins University, Innovative Emergency Management, Inc., Kobre & Kim LLP, Manhattan West LLC, Probity New York LLC., Witt O’Brien’s, LLC, and any and all of their owners, officers, employees and affiliates (collectively, the “Website Entities”). By accessing this website, users/municipalities agree not to assert a conflict of interest, or seek to preclude, challenge or otherwise disqualify any of the Website Entities from acting for any other person or entity in any matter.

Each of Website Entities disclaim any and all liability, whether arising in tort, contract or otherwise, arising from use of the information available on this website. The Website Entities make no representation or warranty, express or implied, with respect to the contents of this website, including with respect to accuracy, completeness, or the suitability of any assistance given. The content on this website may rely on information from third party sources, and there is no guarantee that any third-party information or information on this website is current, error-free, or comprehensive.

Please note that Johns Hopkins University and Bloomberg Philanthropies collects and retains your contact details, which may be made available to other program participants, and the substance of your queries and answers may also be made available to other participants.

Acceptance of disclaimer.

By accessing this website you will be deemed to have read and understood the Terms of Use set out above and agree that you and the user/municipality or entity you represent will be bound by its terms.