Local Fiscal Recovery Funding

Congress directed nearly $11 million of ARPA funding directly to Addison County’s cities and towns. City councils and Selectboards will have discretion over how to spend their allocations.

Guidance for Municipal and County Funds

The State of Vermont has issued allocations for all of Vermont’s “Non-Entitlement Unit” (NEU) communities, which includes all of the municipalities in Addison County. The U.S. Department of the Treasury recommended that all ARPA recipients with an award less than $10 million should elect the “Standard Allowance” for revenue loss and spend their funds on the “provision of government services” (Expenditure Category 6.1 Revenue Replacement). This approach provides the greatest flexibility in spending these dollars and simplicity in reporting. *** If your municipality did not elect the “Standard Allowance” for revenue loss during the last reporting period then it may do so through the April 30, 2023. *** ACRPC encourages you to prioritize community investments that will provide long-term economic and community development benefits. In general, we recommend that you be strategic in leveraging the funds for transformational projects, and reach out to your community for public input. Your town plan goals and priorities are a great place to start for ideas! If you would like to partner with your neighboring communities to make your funding go further, ACRPC can facilitate regional level investments. The ARPA amounts for each municipality can be found HERE.

For more information or questions, please contact ACRPC Emergency Management Planner, Andrew L’Roe

Maple Broadband (Addison County Communications Union District)

If you are looking to spend a portion of your funding quickly, please consider an investment in Maple Broadband and high-speed internet for your community. Maple Broadband is currently composed of 20 member towns and is assembling financial support from both state AND municipal ARPA funding to begin network buildout.

National data indicates that Fiber-to-the-Premise networks drive economic development through job creation and retention, increased housing values (up to 3.1%1) and documents a 4:1 rate of return on fiber broadband investments; every $1 dollar invested in fiber broadband returns $4 dollars to the local economy. Supporting Maple Broadband in some capacity is a great example of how neighboring towns can invest together to create regional infrastructure.

For more information on Vermont Community Broadband, please see This Presentation from the Vermont Community Broadband Board.

Resources

Municipalities are encouraged to consult the Resources and Information section of the VLCT ARPA website at vlct.org/arpa for more information. This section includes a checklist provided by the Treasury Department that will help communities prepare to use the State of Vermont portal, the federal rules and regulations a community must agree to when requesting the funding, and more.

Guidance Documents from VT Department of Finance and Management

Local Fiscal Recovery Fund Information

Reporting

For all Municipalities, a.k.a. non-entitlement units of government (NEUs), the Project and Expenditure report is due on April 2025. Plan ahead and ensure you have access to the Treasury portal. Treasury SLFRF Self-help Resources Project and Expenditure Report User Guide VLCT Guidance and resources