Treasury says 2nd tranche of ARPA funds coming soon

The U.S. Department of the Treasury has indicated that non-entitlement units of government should receive their second tranche of funding soon from the American Rescue Plan Act.

The Treasury Department administers the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds provided for in the ARPA law passed in the spring of 2021. Last spring, the Treasury Department announced that NEUs — typically municipalities with fewer than 50,000 residents — would receive funding in two payments, or tranches, funneled through their state government. NEUs received the first payment in June 2021, with the second payment scheduled to arrive 12 months later.

NEUs, among other recipients of State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds, were required to submit project and expenditure reports by April 30. The Treasury Department has acknowledged, however, that some NEUs continue to have technical and administrative issues with submitting their mandatory reporting.

The Treasury Department is instructing states and territories to distribute the second tranche of NEU funds in as timely a manner as possible, and not later than 30 days after receiving the payments. States and territories should not plan on withholding funds to NEUs under any circumstances, the department said.