In 2022, the U.S. Department of the Treasury began requiring local governments receiving the American Rescue Plan's Local Fiscal Recovery Funds to submit a Project and Expenditure Report.
Metropolitan cities in South Carolina that have a population below 250,000, and that had an allocation of more than $10 million in funding are required to submit their report by April 30, 2023. Nonentitlement units of local government in South Carolina with populations of less than 50,000 are also required to submit their reports by April 30.
In September 2022, the Department of Treasury announced that it would no longer provide the administrative support for local governments. As a result, the State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds call center shut down in October, email response operations were sharply curtailed, and a hiring freeze was put in place which limited the agency's ability to directly engage with recipients.
To ease the burden of this drastic reduction in support services, the Department of the Treasury created a Self-Services Resource to assist recipients with questions about reporting, technical issues, eligible uses of funds and other items.
By law, all ARP funds received by cities and towns must be obligated for specific projects by December 31, 2024, and must be spent by December 31, 2026.
The Municipal Association maintains a webpage connecting officials with extensive guidance on handling federal ARP reporting requirements, including user guides, recorded webinars and presentations. The Association does not have access to the Department of Treasury's ARP reporting portal, but its field services managers, Charlie Barrineau, Ashley Kellahan and Jeff Shacker, can assist local officials as they submit their report.
For general American Rescue Plan questions, contact Municipal Association Legislative and Public Policy Advocate Erica Wright at ewright@masc.sc or 803.354.4793.