Volusia County, Florida

Recovery Plan 

State and Local Fiscal Recovery 

Funds

As of July 31, 2021 Report
Volusia County, Florida July 31, 2021 Recovery Plan Performance Report 1

Volusia County, Florida

July 31, 2021 Recovery Plan

Table of Contents

General Overview......................................................................................................................2

Executive Summary.................................................................................................................2

Uses of Funds .........................................................................................................................3

Promoting Equitable Outcomes ...............................................................................................5

Community Engagement .........................................................................................................5

Labor Practices .......................................................................................................................5

Use of Evidence ......................................................................................................................5

Table of Expenses by Expenditure Category...........................................................................6

Project Inventory.....................................................................................................6

Performance Report................................................................................................6
Volusia County, Florida July 31, 2021 Recovery Plan Performance Report 2

GENERAL OVERVIEW

Executive Summary 

Volusia County has been allocated $107.4 million from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) 

Coronavirus Local Fiscal Recovery Fund (CLFRF). The County Council has met multiple times 

in open public forums to develop priorities and a plan for expenditure of these funds.

While no final decisions have been made, the county has begun to prioritize its needs resulting 

from the COVID-19 pandemic and economic downturn into three broad categories as follows:

Public Health - $5.73 Million

• Mental Health - $2.5 Million

• County COVID Expenditures - $2.75 Million

• Library Social Workers - $480,000

Water and Sewer Infrastructure - $26.9 Million

Revenue Replacement - $74.77 Million

As of July 31, 2021, $10,217,943.13 in funds have been expended. 

Once the spending plan has been finalized, community needs and addressing equity issues will 

form the basis of programs and expenditures. Additionally, relevant labor standards for Water 

and Sewer infrastructure projects will be taken into account and evidence-based practices will 

be utilized as applicable. Future reports will include relevant programmatic data and 

performance indicators as appropriate.
Volusia County, Florida July 31, 2021 Recovery Plan Performance Report 3

Uses of Funds

Although the spending plan has not been formally adopted by the County Council, the Council 

has provided preliminary direction to County staff on the projects it wishes to see developed and 

implemented. Currently, the County has prioritized projects into the categories of Public Health, 

Water and Sewer Infrastructure and Revenue Replacement. A general project identification for 

the plan allocations provided by the Council are listed below.

• Public Health (EC 1) - As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the County has had 

many requests for funding assistance from Mental Health and Public Health 

services providers. Initially, the County had allocated $3.23 million to this service. 

At the August 31, 2021 special meeting, the Council increased the allocation by 

$2.5 million to bring the total allocation in this area to $5.73 million. It is 

anticipated that the County will issue a notice of availability of funding that will be 

open and competitive to all agencies. The council will select the most 

advantageous proposals based upon the solicitations received.

• Mental health/Substance Abuse - $2.5 Million

o Volusia County’s alcohol, drug and mental health service providers 

have seen a continued steady rate of demand for drug, alcohol and 

mental health services over the last two years. However, the 

service delivery model has had to change drastically by increasing 

telehealth appointments from a couple hundred to thousands for 

some agencies in the county. This change in the delivery model 

has increased the need for information technology funding. In 

addition, employment challenges have affected the delivery of 

services. 

• Library Social Worker program - $480,000

o A social worker in the libraries would be available during scheduled 

hours to provide one-on-one counseling/metal health, food/SNAP 

benefits, health, housing, unemployment assistance and other 

governmental service assistance.

• COVID expenses - $2.75 Million

o Due to the recent surge in COVID cases, the County will need 

additional resources for testing, advertising, personal protective 

equipment, building cleaning and sanitization, etc.
Volusia County, Florida July 31, 2021 Recovery Plan Performance Report 4

• Water and Sewer Infrastructure (EC 5) – The County has designated water and 

sewer infrastructure as a critical need ($26.9 million). Proposed projects will 

convert and increase advanced wastewater treatment processing capabilities at 

two of the County’s existing sewage processing plants. These projects will have a 

direct and positive environmental impact on water quality concerns at Blue and 

Gemini Springs and the Mosquito Lagoon estuary.

• Pooser Pond - $1.5 Million

o Stormwater improvement to reduce nutrient loading into Blue 

Springs

• Southwest Regional Water Reclamation Facility - $18.4 Million

o Increase advanced treatment capacity 

o Improve and protect environmental water quality

• Southeast Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant - $6.6 Million

o Advanced waste water treatment and plant expansion, benefiting 

environmental water quality in the Mosquito Lagoon estuary.

• Northeast drinking water resiliency project - $400,000

o Resiliency project to ensure reliable and safe supply in the event of 

an emergency.

• Revenue Replacement (EC 6) – The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a 

significant reduction in the County’s general revenue growth as compared to what 

has been experienced in the past, as evidenced by the Treasury model for

calculating for revenue loss. The current reduction is projected to continue into 

future years. This reduction in revenue growth has negatively impacted the 

County’s ability to fund future operational and capital needs that would normally 

have been funded through revenue appreciation. The County plans to use fiscal 

recovery funds to reimburse itself for public safety wages and benefits up the 

extent of revenue loss, as allowed by the American Rescue Plan Act.

Using these funds for reimbursement of public safety wages and benefits will 

result in budgetary savings in the funds that originally paid for such wages and 

benefits. 

While not a requirement of the American Rescue Plan, the County will further plan 

the expenditure of the above mentioned budgetary savings for public 

transparency utilizing a separate “APRA Transition Fund”. These budgetary 

savings will be used to provide additional capital needs and services for our 

residents. ($74.77 million)
Volusia County, Florida July 31, 2021 Recovery Plan Performance Report 5

Promoting equitable outcomes 

All projects will be discussed and approved by County Council in an open and advertised 

meeting. To date, no projects have been initiated. From water and sewer infrastructure 

and water quality improvements to the provision of mental health and substance abuse 

services, current proposed projects are designed to benefit all citizens of the county. 

Projects as tentatively approved reflect needs that are reflective of the entire community.

Regarding the request for funding for mental health projects, these will be evaluated 

based upon their prioritization of services to disproportionately impacted communities 

and those communities that have traditionally been underserved. 

Funded projects will require sub-recipients to monitor and report on compliance with 

intended outcomes and progress towards those outcomes. 

Community Engagement 

The Volusia County Council will make the final determination on the projects that will be 

funded with Fiscal Recovery Funds. Throughout the decision-making process, the 

Council has promoted and continues to promote open feedback and dialog with its 

constituents. 

• On July 27, 2021, the Council held a public workshop solely dedicated to 

reviewing the proposed and available use of ARPA funding. 

• ARPA projects also were publicly discussed at a regularly scheduled Council 

meeting on Aug. 3, 2021.

• On August 31, 2021, the Council held a special meeting to discuss and begin

finalize its proposed uses of ARPA funding, with the meeting being promoted to 

the public and local news media through the issuance of a news release for the 

widest possible dissemination. This meeting will set the foundation for the ARPA 

funded projects and future reporting requirements.

Labor Practices 

Projects related to Water and Sewer infrastructure will address labor practices in their 

construction and development plans prior to issuance and Council approval.

Use of Evidence

Mental health projects that are proposed will be evaluated for effective and efficient use 

of funds. Awards will require monitoring and reporting on services rendered to 

disproportionately impacted communities. 
Volusia County, Florida July 31, 2021 Recovery Plan Performance Report 6

Table of Expenses by Expenditure Category

Category Cumulative

expenditures to 

date ($)

Amount spent 

since last 

Recovery Plan

1 Expenditure Category: Public Health

1.2 COVID-19 Testing $82.25

1.4 Prevention in Congregate Settings (Nursing 

Homes, Prisons/Jails, Dense Work Sites, 

Schools, etc.)

$58,765.78

1.5 Personal Protective Equipment $94,790.47

1.7 Capital Investments or Physical Plant 

Changes to Public Facilities that respond to 

the COVID-19 public health emergency

$11,121.57

1.8 Other COVID-19 Public Health Expenses 

(including Communications, Enforcement, 

Isolation/Quarantine)

$7,063.23

1.12 Other Public Health Services $46,119.83

6 Expenditure Category: Revenue 

Replacement

6.1 Provision of Government Services $10,000,000.00

Project Inventory

No projects have been started to date.

Performance Report

Goals, measures, outputs and outcomes will be prepared during the project development 

and tracked as the projects are implemented. No projects have been started.