Is there a way for a municipality to repurpose ARPA funds after 12/31/2024 for other programs before 12/31/2026?

Unlike Treasury’s Coronavirus Relief Fund, the Coronavirus State and Fiscal Recovery Fund (“CSLFRF”) program does not allow recipients to make last minute adjustments to fully capture their allocations, for instance by aligning obligation and expenditure dates. To avoid being required to return any of their CSLFRF allocation, recipients should consider planning for contingencies in case any obligations do not fully expend their budgeted amounts after December 31, 2024.

There are several ways recipients may consider creating contingency plans, though recipients should carefully consider the underlying guidance and regulations. Recipients should note that each of the following contingencies requires an over-obligation of a municipality’s CSLFRF allocation.

One option to consider is for a recipient to evaluate the remaining obligations and expenditures and determine whether there are funds at risk of not being expended by December 31, 2026. Once this amount is determined, recipients can evaluate projects that could use additional funding, and issue amendments to those agreements, on or before December 31, 2024, with language around the increased award amounts that clearly states this additional funding is contingent upon the inability of other recipients and projects not fully expending their allocations.

A second option for recipients to consider is to use Treasury’s definition of obligation for incurred expenses to meet the unique needs of their municipality. Treasury is using the Code of Federal Regulation (“CFR”) definition of obligation for incurred expenses which is “an order placed for property and services and entering into contracts, subawards, and similar transactions that require payment.”[1]

Regarding “similar transactions,” Treasury recognizes that recipients may obligate funds through means other than contracts or subawards, for example in the case of payroll costs. In these circumstances, recipients must follow state or local law and their own established practices and policies regarding when they are considered to have incurred an obligation and how those obligations are documented. For example, a recipient may have incurred an obligation even though the recipient and its employee may not have entered into an employment contract.

Finally, recipients can fully calculate the revenue loss of their municipality and allocate expenditures to the revenue replacement category. For municipalities that do not report revenue loss as a lump sum expenditure, the municipality may consider creating placeholder revenue replacement projects to be allocated if needed.

As always, municipalities should carefully consider the underlying regulations and applicable guidance.