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29 <br /> 5. Invest in water, sewer, and broadband infrastructure, making necessary investments to <br /> improve access to clean drinking water, support vital wastewater and stormwater <br /> infrastructure, and to expand access to broadband internet. <br /> The interim guidance also indicates that the funds may be used to support education programs <br /> aimed at addressing educational disparities and child care programs that promote healthy <br /> childhood environments including: <br /> 1. Addressing educational disparities through new or expanded early learning services, <br /> providing additional resources to high-poverty school districts, and offering educational <br /> services like tutoring or afterschool programs as well as services to address social, <br /> emotional, and mental health needs; and, <br /> 2. Promoting healthy childhood environments, including new or expanded high quality <br /> childcare, home visiting programs for families with young children, and enhanced <br /> services for child welfare-involved families and foster youth <br /> County departments were asked to submit proposals consistent with the interim guidance and <br /> the goals established by the Board of Commissioners in prior funding allocations. County <br /> departments submitted requests totaling over $44 million. In addition to these proposals, the <br /> County's Broadband Task Force will be reviewing proposals to extend broadband coverage to <br /> unserved and underserved parts of the County over both the short term and long term. The <br /> Task Force has indicated a desire to access County ARPA funds to implement this initiative <br /> with the likelihood of being able to leverage State and Federal funding that is also available to <br /> County governments for this purpose. Finally, Commissioners have submitted budget <br /> amendments for the FY2021-22 Budget that propose to allocate $3,570,000 in ARPA funds to <br /> education initiatives, individual property tax relief, and the Small Business Center at the Orange <br /> County campus of Durham Technical Community College. These amendments will be <br /> considered at the Board's work session on June 8. If the Board approves one or more of these <br /> amendments, the approaches detailed in the attachments would be recalibrated prior to <br /> consideration of a final draft spending plan on June 15. <br /> This abstract outlines three different approaches to allocating ARPA funds. The first approach <br /> (Attachment 1) creates a four year spending plan focused on services, providing financial <br /> support to individuals and organizations and replacing County revenues lost due to the <br /> pandemic. This approach generally assumes that pandemic related hardships will largely <br /> persist for the next several years. <br /> The second approach (Attachment 2) assumes a more swift and optimistic recovery by <br /> reducing overall spending and limiting most program support to two years with the exception of <br /> housing related programming which is funded for the four year period but at a reduced amount. <br /> This approach preserves a balance of approximately $10 million to allocate at a later date for a <br /> broadband expansion project or other high priority needs that may emerge as the longer term <br /> effects of the pandemic may surface. <br /> The third approach (Attachment 3) recommends a spending plan for the next fiscal year only. <br /> The FY2021-22 plan is the same as in Approach 1, but this third approach reflects the <br /> uncertainty of needs over the next four years and suggests a more incremental approach to <br /> allocating funds. In general, this approach would require annual recommendations and <br /> decisions about ARPA allocations based on the spending rate and needs expressed over the <br />