The Office of Budget and Management/Ohio Grants Partnership will be leading a spring webinar series to provide more information on the American Rescue Plan Act, answer questions local leaders may have on Coronavirus Relief Funds or CARES Act reporting.
The first webinar will be held on Thursday, April 29 from 1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. The webinar will provide local governments with updates about the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. The presenters will discuss steps that local governments can take to prepare ahead of the U.S. Treasury guidance and in advance of the distribution of funds. The webinar will also review information regarding spending down, reporting, and monitoring of Coronavirus Relief Funds, local government eligibility for the Public Assistance program from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and the local government provisions in the Governor’s Executive Budget.
The next two webinars in the series will be held on the following dates:
- May 18, 2021
- June 24, 2021
To learn more and to register for the April 29 webinar, click HERE.
GUIDANCE RELEASED FOR MUNICIPALITIES TO RECEIVE FEDERAL AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN ACT (ARPA) FUNDS FROM U.S. TREASURY
The National League of Cities (NLC) has distributed the following guidance from the U.S. Department of Treasury regarding what metropolitan cities and non-entitlement units of local government need to do to receive federal aid from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). These steps should be taken as soon as possible to ensure local governments receive their funds in a timely fashion.
As soon as possible, metropolitan cities should take the steps below.
1. Ensure the entity has a valid DUNS number. A DUNS number is a unique nine-character number used to identify an organization and is issued by Dun & Bradstreet. The federal government uses the DUNS number to track how federal money is allocated. A DUNS number is required prior to registering with the SAM database, which is outlined below. Registering for a DUNS number is free of charge.
2. Ensure the entity has an active SAM registration. SAM is the official government-wide database to register with in order to do business with the U.S. government. All Federal financial assistance recipients must register on SAM.gov and renew their SAM registration annually to maintain an active status to be eligible to receive Federal financial assistance. There is no charge to register or maintain your entity SAM registration.
If an entity does not have an active SAM registration, please visit, SAM.gov to begin the entity registration or renewal process. Please note that SAM registration can take up to three weeks; delay in registering in SAM could impact timely payment of funds.
3. Gather the entity's payment information, including:
o Entity Identification Number (EIN), name, and contact information
o Name and title of an authorized representative of the entity
o Financial institution information (e.g., routing and account number, financial institution name and contact information)
Eligible Non-entitlement Units of Local Government will receive a distribution of funds from their respective state government. "Non-entitlement units of local government" are defined in 42 U.S.C. 5302(a)(5) that are not metropolitan cities. For these Non-entitlement units of local government, Treasury will allocate and pay funds to state governments, and the state will distribute funds to non-entitlement units of local government in proportion to population. Non-entitlement units must have a valid DUNS number to meet reporting requirements under the program. If an entity does not have a valid DUNS number, please visit https://fedgov.dnb.com/webform/ or call 1-866-705-5711 to begin the registration process.
The U.S. Department of Treasury has stated that program guidance for Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund will be released in the coming weeks. We will keep our members apprised as more information is made available.
