Orange County NC Website
Browse       Search
29 <br /> 1 2. Promoting healthy childhood environments, including new or expanded high quality <br /> 2 childcare, home visiting programs for families with young children, and enhanced <br /> 3 services for child welfare-involved families and foster youth <br /> 4 <br /> 5 County departments were asked to submit proposals consistent with the interim guidance and <br /> 6 the goals established by the Board of Commissioners in prior funding allocations. County <br /> 7 departments submitted requests totaling over $44 million. In addition to these proposals, the <br /> 8 County's Broadband Task Force will be reviewing proposals to extend broadband coverage to <br /> 9 unserved and underserved parts of the County over both the short term and long term. The <br /> 10 Task Force has indicated a desire to access County ARPA funds to implement this initiative with <br /> 11 the likelihood of being able to leverage State and Federal funding that is also available to <br /> 12 County governments for this purpose. Finally, Commissioners have submitted budget <br /> 13 amendments for the FY2021-22 Budget that propose to allocate $3,570,000 in ARPA funds to <br /> 14 education initiatives, individual property tax relief, and the Small Business Center at the Orange <br /> 15 County campus of Durham Technical Community College. These amendments will be <br /> 16 considered at the Board's work session on June 8. If the Board approves one or more of these <br /> 17 amendments, the approaches detailed in the attachments would be recalibrated prior to <br /> 18 consideration of a final draft spending plan on June 15. <br /> 19 <br /> 20 This abstract outlines three different approaches to allocating ARPA funds. The first approach <br /> 21 (Attachment 1) creates a four year spending plan focused on services, providing financial <br /> 22 support to individuals and organizations and replacing County revenues lost due to the <br /> 23 pandemic. This approach generally assumes that pandemic related hardships will largely <br /> 24 persist for the next several years. <br /> 25 <br /> 26 The second approach (Attachment 2) assumes a more swift and optimistic recovery by <br /> 27 reducing overall spending and limiting most program support to two years with the exception of <br /> 28 housing related programming which is funded for the four year period but at a reduced amount. <br /> 29 This approach preserves a balance of approximately $10 million to allocate at a later date for a <br /> 30 broadband expansion project or other high priority needs that may emerge as the longer term <br /> 31 effects of the pandemic may surface. <br /> 32 <br /> 33 The third approach (Attachment 3) recommends a spending plan for the next fiscal year only. <br /> 34 The FY2021-22 plan is the same as in Approach 1, but this third approach reflects the <br /> 35 uncertainty of needs over the next four years and suggests a more incremental approach to <br /> 36 allocating funds. In general, this approach would require annual recommendations and <br /> 37 decisions about ARPA allocations based on the spending rate and needs expressed over the <br /> 38 prior fiscal year. It would allocate approximately $10.3 million in fiscal year 2021-22 and <br /> 39 preserve a balance of approximately $18.5 million to be allocated in future years. <br /> 40 <br /> 41 In each of the approaches, the largest spending category is eviction diversion and housing <br /> 42 supports. The Emergency Housing Assistance program is providing rental assistance, utility <br /> 43 assistance as well as other payments to low income households to avoid evictions and utility <br /> 44 disconnections. Based on experience with the Program over the past year, the Housing <br /> 45 Department requested a total of$4 million in direct assistance to households throughout the <br /> 46 County. However, during the past year, municipalities have contributed federal funds as well as <br /> 47 local funds to help support their residents. If municipalities were asked to contribute on the <br /> 48 same proportion as assistance has been paid to households over the past year, the total $4 <br /> 49 million program would be divided among four entities. Chapel Hill residents have received 44% <br /> 50 of assistance to date. Carrboro residents have received 25%. Residents living in <br /> 51 unincorporated Orange County have received 23%, and residents in Hillsborough have received <br />