EDITORS/NEWS DIRECTORS:
The American Rescue Plan offered federal money to local governments across the U.S. to help cover costs from the coronavirus pandemic, shore up their finances and fund community improvement projects.
Every government was to get a share — ranging from a potential $177 for the one-person village of Monowi, Nebraska, to $27 billion for California. But some government officials effectively said “no.”
An Associated Press analysis found that 1,468 local governments turned away a potential total of $73 million from the American Rescue Plan. Some formally rejected the money. Others never applied for it. Either way, the result was the same.
Some small-town mayors and village administrators told the AP they had no need for the money, or didn't think they had eligible uses for it. Others said they didn’t want the hassle of dealing with the federal bureaucracy, or were politically opposed to the financial aid approved last year by the Democratic-led Congress and President Joe Biden.
Here are some background details and potential questions you can use in your own reporting on how local governments are using — or not using — funds from the American Rescue Plan. Local stories could run alongside the AP story US—Virus Outbreak-Government Aid, which is moving Thursday.
THE BACKGROUND
The American Rescue Plan included $350 billion of federal pandemic aid to be divided among states, territories, tribes, counties, cities and smaller local governments such as towns, villages and townships.
The U.S. Treasury Department began distributing money one year ago. Some states got their money in one lump some. But many states and local governments are getting their money in two chunks — the second of which could be distributed as soon as this month. The exact timing varies and depends on when governments originally applied for their money.
States and larger local governments get their money directly from the Treasury. But so-called “non-entitlement units” of governments — generally cities, towns, villages and townships with fewer than 50,000 residents — had to apply through their states for a share of the federal aid.
Once states received the funds, they had 30 days to distribute the money to non-entitlement units of government. But states could request 30-day extensions. The Treasury Department granted as many as eight monthly extensions for some states. That meant some local governments faced deadlines last summer to apply for the funds while local governments in other states had until early 2022.
The AP tracked those deadlines and, after they had passed, requested data from each state about the amount of American Rescue Plan money distributed to each local government and the amount that could have gone to each government that declined it. The Treasury Department provided data on the amounts allocated to larger governments.
USE THIS CONTEXT
The following paragraphs can be used as publishable material in local stories about American Rescue Plan funds for local governments:
Officials in 1,468 local governments across the U.S. turned away a potential total of $73 million of coronavirus relief funds from the American Rescue Plan, according to an Associated Press analysis of data compiled from every state. The total includes eight counties that have forgone $12 million and 1,460 small cities, towns, villages and townships that declined a potential total of $61 million.
The declined funds ranged from $177 for the one-person village of Monowi, Nebraska, to $3.9 million for DeWitt County, Texas, population about 20,000. No states, territories or large cities declined the aid.
The total amount of declined funds amounts to a small fraction of the $350 billion made available to governments. The U.S. Treasury Department said it was pleased with the overall response to the American Rescue Plan, which marked the first time it had distributed money to such a broad swath of governments across the U.S.
LOCALIZING THE STORY
State and local governments must file periodic reports with the Treasury Department describing how they are using their American Rescue Plan funds. Larger governments must report more frequently than smaller ones.
The most recent data available from the Treasury shows budgeted uses of the money by states, territories and larger cities and counties through the end of 2021. Though additional reports for all sizes of governments were due April 30, that data is not yet available from the Treasury via its online portal.
The Treasury has not posted data about local governments that declined funds.
However, information about local governments that declined funds is available from each state — typically from an executive branch agency in charge of the state's budget or finances.
The AP built four datasets containing information about local governments that turned away funds. These datasets are available to subscribers of the AP’s data service through data.world. If your news organization is interested in participating in AP’s data distributions, contact apdigitalsales@ap.org for enrollment details.
QUESTIONS TO ASK
— Did any local governments in your state or coverage area decline American Rescue Plan funds, either by not applying or formally rejecting the money? If so, why did they decline the money? Talk with mayors, city council members, village board members or executive administrators to find out their reasons for declining the aid.
— The AP found several common reasons for rejecting funds: Local officials thought they had no need for the money, had no eligible uses for it, didn't want to get involved with the federal bureaucracy, or were ideologically opposed to the federal aid?
— How was the decision made to turn away these funds? Did an individual such as a mayor decide not to apply? Did a city council or town board take a public vote on whether to accept the funds? If so, review the meeting minutes to see whether there was debate or discussion.
— Do local officials who declined the money now have regrets? In January, the Treasury released final rules that provided greater flexibility for using the money. But by then, it was too late for some local officials to change their minds and accept the money.
— What sort of outreach efforts did your state government, statewide municipal league or other association for local governments take to make local officials aware of the money, the deadlines for applying and the potential uses for the funds?
— How are governments that accepted the money using it? Though data through the end of 2021 is available from the Treasury for larger governments, more recent data should be available directly from local governments. How much of the money has been budgeted so far and how much has been spent. On what types of programs or projects is it being spent?
