On Monday, the Office of Financial Management (OFM) sent via email a letter to all 247 cities classified as a non-entitlement city under the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) outlining the process and requirements for receiving ARPA funds.
OFM is under statute to deliver ARPA funds to non-entitlement cities within 30-days of June 7 with the possibility to receive a 30-day extension. The application to receive ARPA funds requires that cities provide:
- The city’s DUNS number. If you do not have a valid DUNS number, visit https://fedgov.dnb.com/webform or call (866) 705-5711 to being the registration process.
- The city’s Federal Tax Identification Number
- The city’s address
- The city’s annual budget. ARPA requires OFM to cap distributions to non-entitlement cities to 75% of a city’s annual operating budget as of January 27, 2020.
- The city’s financial information for transfer of funds. OFM will coordinate with the Office of the State Treasurer to distribute the funds.
- A signed copy of the U.S. Treasury Coronavirus Local Fiscal Recovery Fund Award Terms and Conditions agreement.
- A signed copy of the Assurances of Compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
We encourage cities to quickly review the letter and materials sent by OFM and make a decision as to how they will proceed. As a reminder, if your city chooses to decline to receive ARPA funds, that decision is final and cannot be reversed. Additionally,
if your city is unresponsive and does not apply to receive ARPA funds, your funds will be forfeited.
As your city works on coming to a decision, please be sure to consult these resources from the National League of Cities, AWC, and the Treasury Department:
If your mayor or clerk did not receive the letter from OFM, please contact OFM staff at ofmbudget@ofm.wa.gov or (360) 902-0560.
If your city has specific questions on how ARPA funds can be used, you can contact Treasury at SLFRP@treasury.gov or reach out to Jacob Ewing at AWC.