American Rescue Plan & Local Recovery Funds

The Recovery Funds provide an infusion of resources to meet pandemic response needs and rebuild a stronger, and more equitable economy as the country recovers. In general, funds may be used in these broad categories:

• Support public health expenditures, by, for example, funding COVID-19 mitigation efforts, medical expenses, behavioral healthcare, and certain public health and safety staff.
• Address negative economic impacts caused by the public health emergency, including economic harms to workers, households, small businesses, impacted industries, and the public sector.
• Replace lost public sector revenue, using this funding to provide government services to the extent of the reduction in revenue experienced due to the pandemic.
• Provide premium pay for essential workers, offering additional support to those who have and will bear the greatest health risks because of their service in critical infrastructure sectors.
• Invest in water, sewer, and broadband infrastructure, making necessary investments to improve access to clean drinking water, support vital wastewater and stormwater infrastructure, and to expand access to broadband internet.

Within these general categories, the City will have broad flexibility to decide how best to use the Recovery Funds to meet the needs of our community.  More specific guidelines are currently being drafted by the Treasury Department. Review the Interim Final Rule on how Recovery Funds can be spent.

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The City Council adopted the following Guiding Principles in order to assist the public, City staff, outside agencies, and governmental partners to understand the Council’s expectations regarding options and suggestions for the utilization of the Recovery Funds.

The Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds and designated General Fund balance should be utilized to:

• Invest in sectors of our local economy that were hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Ensure that our historically underserved residents, neighborhoods, and commercial areas
  of the City are prioritized for support and reinvestment.
• Maximize the impact of the available funding by:
  ➢ Providing significant financial resources to address unmet needs across Champaign.
  ➢ Making investments that improve our residents’ quality of life.
  ➢ Supporting and advancing economic opportunities across our community.

When developing recommendations for possible uses of the American Rescue Plan and other available funding, City staff should strive to:

• Identify opportunities to collaborate with other government and community partners to avoid duplicative efforts.
• Develop a comprehensive sustainability plan for continued funding of recurring costs that would extend beyond December 31, 2024.
• Utilize data metrics to identify priority areas and to measure program and/or project success.

Public Input Opportunities

We offered many different ways for our residents to share their thoughts and ideas on how the American Rescue Plan (ARP) funds would have the biggest impact on our community. Those meetings, engagements, and public survey have now closed.  The public input gathered is being compiled and will be shared with the City Council for their future deliberations. The public will have an additional opportunity to provide their comments to Council during the study session meeting to discuss possible uses of ARP funding.

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Community Survey 

The public was offered the opportunity to provide feedback through a public survey. The survey closed on August 2, 2021. All responses were recorded verbatim and will be published in a written report for the public and the City Council to review.

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Public Input Meetings 

In-person Community Input Sessions: 

• Saturday, July 24, 2021 at 10:00 a.m. – Cancelled due to low registration
  Champaign Public Library-Rooms A & B,
  200 W. Green Street

• Saturday, July 24, 2021 at 12:00 Noon
  Champaign Public Library-Rooms A & B,
  200 W. Green Street

• Monday, July 26, 2021 at 4:00 p.m. – Cancelled due to no registration
  Douglass Branch Library-
  504 E. Grove Street

Zoom Community Input Sessions:

• Wednesday, July 28, 2021 at 1:30 PM
• Thursday, July 29, 2021 at 6:30 PM
• Meetings were held via Zoom. As the events have passed, the Zoom links have now been removed.
• Download: ARP Funding Handout

American Rescue Plan Community Engagement Activity:

Learn more about the $25M in funding granted by the federal government to help Champaign overcome the COVID-19 pandemic. Join us for fun activities to help prioritize how funding should be spent. Refreshments will be served. All ages welcome. Free public parking in the lot immediately adjacent to the Illinois Terminal (West side). Note there are two repeat sessions as follows:

• Tuesday, August 10, 2021 at 5:30 PM
  CityView Banquet and Meeting Center (Illinois Terminal Bldg-4th Floor)
  45 E. University Avenue, Champaign

• Tuesday, August 10, 2021 at 7:00 PM
  CityView Banquet and Meeting Center (Illinois Terminal Bldg-4th Floor)
  45 E. University Avenue, Champaign