On Friday, October 8th, the State of Missouri announced the creation and availability of spending toolkits for local governments to assist in the allocation of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) local funds.
ARPA funds encompass recovery funds for state, local, and tribal governments. The toolkits will provide local governments with ideas for allowable uses of these funds based on six different categories of need: Public Health, Public Safety, Economic development, Water treatment, Broadband, and Behavioral health.
Municipalities with populations exceeding 50,000 and all counties are eligible to receive their funds directly from the U.S. Treasury. Municipalities smaller than 50,000 will receive their allocations from the state in two seperate payments.
All ARPA funds must be apportioned by December 31, 2024, and spent by December 31, 2026. The state of Missouri received more than $2.6 billion in ARPA funds, excluding local government allocations. Specific spending plans for the state's allocation will be presented in Governor Parson's annual budget proposal to the General Assembly during his 2022 State of the State Address.