Howard County, MD

Recovery Plan

State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds

2021 Report
Howard County, Maryland, 2021 Recovery Plan Performance Report 1

Howard County Government, Maryland

2021 Recovery Plan

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

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

Uses of Funds .........................................................................................................................2

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

Community Engagement .........................................................................................................7

Labor Practices .......................................................................................................................7

Use of Evidence ......................................................................................................................8

Table of Expenses by Expenditure Category...........................................................................9

Project Inventory.......................................................................................................................9
Howard County, Maryland, 2021 Recovery Plan Performance Report 2

Executive Summary 

The COVID-19 pandemic has had far reaching consequences beyond the direct health impacts 

experienced by members of our community who have contracted the virus. Our governing 

institutions have dramatically adjusted their operations to continue to provide services to our 

residents, our businesses and workers have endured health related closures and adjustments to 

their business delivery processes, and members of our community have confronted a variety of 

challenges, managing changes to educational models and finding child care options for our 

youth, enduring unforeseen mental health issues exacerbated by the pandemic, and ensuring 

that adequate funds are available to provide for necessities like housing, utilities, and internet 

access. 

Howard County intends to take a broad-based approach to its use of American Rescue Plan 

State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (ARP SLFRF) funds to respond to the pandemic, as 

reflected by the many challenges that our communities have experienced over the past eighteen 

(18) months. Our approach will ensure that our jurisdiction will continue to meet the public 

health demands of the pandemic, securing the necessary infrastructure and supplies to continue 

to provide vaccinations, testing, personal protective equipment (PPE) and other items needed to 

ensure the safety of our community, and upgrade storage and other facilities to provide secure 

working environments for our employees. We will also emphasize allocation of support to both 

industries and residents impacted most severely by the pandemic, prioritizing small businesses 

and sectors hardest hit by pandemic-related restrictions, and residents disproportionally affected 

by addressing issues related to education, housing, health and provide direct support for 

necessities where appropriate. 

Howard County is also focused on leveraging ARP SLFRF funds to emerge from the pandemic 

stronger than before by making improvements to County-wide infrastructure. ARP SLFRF

funding eligibility criteria provides an opportunity to make investments in water, sewer and 

broadband infrastructure, and Howard County plans to look closely at stormwater management 

investments, improvements to County-wide flood mitigation infrastructure, and to improving 

existing broadband service and expanding broadband access to currently underserved 

communities. 

As described in more detail below, Howard County is well-situated to recover from the pandemic 

in a stronger and more equitable way based on the work done to develop the HoCo RISE 

Collaborative Report, which brought a variety of local stakeholders together to develop 

recommendations for a continued response to and recovery from the pandemic. Completed this 

past March, the HoCo RISE Collaborative Report, focusing on the public health response,

government response, jobs and the economy, education and workforce, and family 

opportunities, will serve as a valuable resource and guide for the allocation of ARP SLFRF

funds and the County’s emergence from the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Uses of Funds

Howard County is actively engaged in the initial phases of a detailed process to ensure the 

highest and best uses of ARP SLFRF funds, aiming to reach the overarching goal of a strong 

and equitable recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. To date, the County has worked with 

internal stakeholders to generate funding proposals, similar to its annual County funded budget 

processes, generating over 200 proposals valued at nearly $200 million for the County’s total 

ARP SLFRF allocation of $63.2 million. As described in more detail below, the County is in the 
Howard County, Maryland, 2021 Recovery Plan Performance Report 3

process of developing a robust community engagement plan that may include community 

surveys to better gauge public priority areas, a public comment period, public hearings to intake 

feedback, and engagement with the County Council as spending plans are more fully developed 

and federal guidance on eligible uses of funding are firmly established. 

Part of the County’s plan to make effective and efficient use of ARP SLFRF funding is 

thoroughly mapping different funding sources available to support recovery efforts, avoiding 

duplication and addressing as many issues as possible. The County continues to receive funds 

from different State and Federal grant programs that will inform how ARP SLFRF funds are 

expended on an ongoing basis.

Excluding the first half of the local ARP SLFRF allocation ($31.6 million) received in June, the 

County has received or made available over $100 million in support to address a variety of 

issues since the beginning of the pandemic. These funds include $56.4 million in locally 

allocated federal CARES Act funding (divided between Howard County and the Howard County 

Health Department), over $19 million in federal housing assistance funding (ERAP and HOME 

grants), nearly $8 million in sector targeted business assistance funding from the State of 

Maryland, $7.4 million in federal transit funding, $6.5 million in County funding made available at 

the end of 2020 when future federal pandemic assistance was uncertain, $1.3 million in federal 

health grants, $1.1 million in State non-profit grant funding, and $700,000 to support election 

operations. Additionally, our school system has received over $80 million in grant funding to 

address the impacts of the pandemic, including over $60 million over multiple rounds of the 

Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ESSER) program. The County will 

continue to work with federal and state partners to understand new funding sources that may be 

made available in the coming months and continue to adjust its ARP SLFRF spending plan 

accordingly. 

Provided below is a general draft breakdown of the proposed use of ARP SLFRF funds. These 

draft allocations are estimates and flexible by design, allowing the County to adjust to continual 

modifications of federal guidance regarding eligible uses of ARP SLFRF funding, to use new 

State and Federal funding sources for intended ARP SLFRF expenditures as they become 

available, and to adjust to the evolving needs of our community in addressing the impacts of the 

pandemic. 

• Public Health Initiatives (EC1): $15 Million (estimated)

The County plans to allocate $15 million of its ARP SLFRF funding to tackle health disparities 

underscored by the pandemic and ensure the availability of supplies and infrastructure needed 

to continue the response to this public health crisis. One of the significant impacts of the 

COVID-19 pandemic has been the exacerbation of behavioral health issues amongst many in 

the community. Unlike the CARES Act, ARP SLFRF funding can be used to address these and 

other emerging health issues. Potential expenditures under this category include the expansion 

of mobile health services, youth psychiatric and support programming, and communications 

support to increase awareness of available resources. 

Other expenditures under this category could include securing the necessary infrastructure and 

supplies to continue to provide vaccinations, testing, personal protective equipment (PPE) and 

other items needed to ensure the safety of our community, and upgrading storage and other 

facilities to provide secure working environments for our employees. 
Howard County, Maryland, 2021 Recovery Plan Performance Report 4

• Negative Economic Impacts (EC2): $15 Million (estimated) 

The County plans to allocate $15 million of its ARP SLFRF funding to address the negative 

economic impacts to our businesses and residents caused by the pandemic. While significant 

funding and focus has been dedicated to managing the public health aspects of the COVID-19 

pandemic, the local business community has experienced a significant impact as well, 

managing through various restrictions since March 2020. Several sectors have endured 

challenging circumstances, like hotels, restaurants, retail establishments, live performance 

venues, farms, child care operators and other small businesses. Continued support is needed 

for these business sectors as we emerge from the pandemic. 

The County will also target funding in this category to provide direct assistance to its residents 

and non-profit communities. Potential expenditures could include support for programming that 

provides food, mortgage and utility bill assistance to residents, provides job training and funds 

other workforce development initiatives to help job seekers adjust and retain positions in an 

evolving economic climate, supports the tourism industry and creates grant funding 

opportunities for the non-profit community that has been vital in helping our County withstand 

the many challenges of the pandemic. 

• Services to Disproportionately Impacted Communities (EC3): $10 Million (estimated)

The County plans to allocate $10 million of its ARP SLFRF funding to create and enhance 

services to disproportionately impacted communities in our jurisdiction. Potential expenditures 

under this category could include educational supports through after-school, youth support and 

educational enhancement programming, child care support, housing support through 

foreclosure assistance and financial contributions to ensure the long-term availability of 

affordable units on the market, homelessness prevention initiatives, efforts to address social 

determinants of health, and violence intervention and prevention programming. 

• Premium Pay (EC4): $6 Million (estimated)

The County plans to allocate $6 million of its ARP SLFRF funding to support government 

employees and operations through the pandemic, providing additional resources to those who 

have provided critical support to our community over the past 18 months. Potential expenditures 

under this category include additional hazard pay for certain classifications of County 

employees, coverage of overtime expenses and other associated labor costs. 

• Infrastructure (EC5): $12.5 Million (estimated)

Unlike the CARES Act, the ARP SLFRF permits the use of funds to make necessary 

investments in water, sewer and broadband infrastructure. The County plans to allocate $12.5

million of its ARP SLFRF funding to support a variety of capital needs, including broadband 

expansion to address digital equity issues in the County, address a significant backlog of 

stormwater pond maintenance projects, and support flood mitigation efforts throughout the 

County. With this category of funding representing new eligibility criteria added to the ARP 

SLFRF, we anticipate that federal guidance will continue to evolve and the County will be 

prepared to address additional types of infrastructure as federal guidance permits. 

• Revenue Replacement (EC6): $0 (estimated)
Howard County, Maryland, 2021 Recovery Plan Performance Report 5

Based on initial projections made after reviewing federal criteria, it is believed to be unlikely that 

the County is qualified to use funding for this purpose.

• Administrative and Other (EC7): $4.7 Million (estimated)

The ARP SLFRF reporting process places a heavy emphasis on establishing clear and 

measurable criteria and metrics to evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of grant funded 

programs. Additionally, the heightened reporting requirements established for management of 

ARP SLFRF funding will require more resources for grants consulting and other contractual 

services. As a place holder, the County is allocating $4.7 million to support administrative 

expenses and the evaluative and analytical reporting requirements of managing these funds. 

Promoting equitable outcomes 

Howard County has a longstanding commitment to promoting equity. From the beginning of the 

COVID-19 pandemic, the County has taken steps to align resource allocation with the needs of 

a variety of groups throughout the County. Most notably, in November 2020, the County 

Executive established the HoCo Rise Collaborative to provide “an opportunity to dive deeper 

into the implications of this pandemic on all facets of our community.” The Collaborative was 

comprised of five workgroups focused on different topical areas, with each having promoting 

equity as part of its core charge.1 The work of the Collaborative, including its March 2021 

Report, informed the County’s priorities for allocation of Coronavirus Relief Fund (CRF) funding 

and serves as a foundation for its efforts to best utilize State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds 

to aid recovery and provide investment throughout the County. In addition to the work done by 

the HoCo Rise Collaborative, the County and several partners have conducted recent outreach 

and planning efforts in areas including health, housing, children and families and economic 

development, all of which have identified opportunities to enhance equity by reducing barriers 

and service delivery for members of traditionally disadvantaged groups. 

Based on these inputs, the County has identified broad categories of potential projects that will 

support recovery, has planned preliminary allocation of ARP SLFRF resources to these 

categories, and has begun soliciting potential projects from a variety of stakeholders. Final 

decisions on resource allocation and project evaluation are not planned to occur until after an 

inclusive public engagement process has been undertaken, but all allocation and project 

decisions will be made in accordance with the overall needs of the community and with equity 

as a primary consideration.

Goals. Based on the universe of potential projects that have been submitted for 

consideration, the County’s recovery efforts will serve a number of historically 

underserved, marginalized or adversely affected groups. Potential projects aimed at 

reducing traditional barriers related to housing, food, education, transportation, 

employment and broadband access for disadvantaged groups are all under 

consideration.

Awareness. Howard County has a strong tradition of wide-reaching outreach efforts, 

including placing multi-lingual materials in community centers serving traditionally 

disadvantaged populations. While project selection and design will dictate specific 

 

1 Howard County Executive Order 2020-10
Howard County, Maryland, 2021 Recovery Plan Performance Report 6

outreach and awareness efforts, a commitment to serving all members of the 

community will be central to all program promotion. For example, the County already 

provided detailed spending dashboard report at County website for CARES Act 

funding and plans to do so for ARP SLFRF spending, too. In addition, we plan to use 

on-line survey, public hearings, and other mechanisms to facilitate public 

engagement.

Access and Distribution. Project selection and design will dictate the exact nature of 

services and requirements for participation, but all reasonable effort will be made to 

remove any barriers to access. Howard County and any subrecipients will comply 

with all applicable nondiscrimination regulations.

Outcomes. Programs will be selected to solve problems of greatest need in the 

course of effecting recovery. Program design will ultimately focus on effective 

delivery of services to the intended recipients, with the goal of creating positive, longterm investment and fostering lasting change. Addressing equity dimensions will be 

critical in meeting this goal and will be an important factor in program selection and 

design.

Negative Economic Impacts (EC 2)

While program selection has not yet occurred, a number of programs have been 

proposed that would address Negative Economic Impacts, including foreclosure 

prevention, rental assistance, food access, small business outreach for minority, 

women and veteran-owned businesses, transportation assistance and child care 

access. These proposed programs would each fill specific needs for traditionally 

disadvantaged populations and represent long-term investments designed to 

promote equity.

Services to Disproportionately Impacted Communities (EC 3)

While program selection has not yet been finalized, a number of programs have 

been proposed that would address Services to Disproportionately Impacted 

Communities, including affordable housing support, continued support for an online 

services portal, mental health support and childcare access expansion. These 

proposed programs would each fill specific needs for traditionally disadvantaged 

populations and represent long-term investments designed to promote equity. 

Allocating significant funding to provide Services to Disproportionately Impacted 

Communities is an important component of an equitable recovery strategy, as the 

impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic have most affected those populations that 

traditionally have the fewest resources and the highest barriers.

Equity Efforts

Howard County has been using both CARES Act funding and its own funding 

resources to support various vulnerable groups including food and utility assistance 

to impacted residents as well as education assistance services to kids with financial 

or learning difficulties. However, it is too early in the recovery process to have 

collected and analyzed any data or to have drawn conclusions about project success 

with regard to increasing equity.
Howard County, Maryland, 2021 Recovery Plan Performance Report 7

Distribution of Funding

While only a preliminary allocation has been contemplated and program selection has not 

yet been decided, it is anticipated that funding will be utilized in a manner that targets those 

most in need. The demographics and geography of the County are such that there are no 

Qualified Census Tracts, so program targeting using other means (e.g., financial and social 

criteria) will be necessary in order to effectively reach members of traditionally marginalized 

communities.

Community Engagement 

Howard County has a documented history of community engagement throughout various recent 

planning processes. In addition to the work of the HoCo Rise Collaborative, which represented 

a diverse group of stakeholders providing critical inputs for the recovery process, the Housing 

Opportunities Master Plan, Howard County Health Assessment Survey, 2017 HC Economic 

Development Authority Strategic Plan and the 2020 Community Plan for Children, Youth and 

Families all were based on significant dialogue with individuals, businesses and other 

stakeholders from across the County. Typical survey methodology has included placing 

advertising materials printed in multiple languages in facilities typically used by members of 

underserved groups. During the outreach conducted by the HoCo Rise Collaborative, a series 

of community conversations were held with residents who identify with traditionally 

disadvantaged groups, the results of which continue to inform the County’s overall recovery 

strategy.

Howard County is in currently in the midst of a comprehensive land use planning process. 

HoCo By Design is an inclusive, community driven process intended to result in the creation of a 

General Plan update. The process includes extensive public engagement with community 

members, advisory committees and County officials on topics including community growth, 

resource conservation and public infrastructure needs. This collaborative process has been 

modified to preserve meaningful engagement even during the COVID-19 pandemic.

A detailed Community Engagement Plan related to use of ARP SLFRF funding is under 

development. This plan is contemplated to include a variety of methods designed to solicit input 

from a diverse population, including a survey addressing general funding priorities, an 

opportunity for comment (both general and specific to the Recovery Plan) via the County’s 

website, and public hearings offering an opportunity for direct comment to the governing body. 

A critical part of this engagement plan will be communication with the Howard County Council, 

as the Council Members are uniquely positioned to provide input as to the needs of their 

constituents.

Labor Practices 

Howard County is committed to creating a competitive and equitable economic environment and 

recovery plan using existing and new policy/initiatives described below to increase access to 

procurement opportunities for local, small and historically disadvantaged businesses which were 

the hardest hit during the COVID-19 pandemic and ensure employees of businesses working on 

county contracts are paid a living wage. 
Howard County, Maryland, 2021 Recovery Plan Performance Report 8

1. Equal Business Opportunity (EBO) program which regulates that 20% of the County's total 

dollar amount of all contracts be awarded directly to Minority, Woman-owned and Disabledowned Business Enterprises firms during each fiscal year. This includes consulting services, 

construction, professional services, and other procurements for goods and services. The 

Program also sets a subcontracting goal of 15% when a contract value is $50,000 or more 

annually. 

(Attached is a detailed description of the Equal Business Opportunity Program)

2. Local Business Initiative which has a goal to promote the growth and success of local 

businesses and increase the percentage of County procurement dollars flowing to local 

businesses with the following policy guidelines:

• County Departments and agencies are encouraged to select and prioritize local 

businesses when purchasing goods or services that are under $10,000.

• Written quotations for Informal Quotes ($10,001 - $29,999) from certified local 

businesses will be obtained whenever possible.

• Contracts may be awarded to certified local businesses that submit a competitive sealed 

bid within 10% of a low bid by a non-local firm.

• Certain solicitations will contain an evaluation factor up to 10% of the total points for 

certified local businesses.

• Certain low bid awards for non-capital projects will be awarded to a local business if 

there is a tie for lowest bid with a non-local business.

3. Living wage requirement for contractors that hold a service contract with the county in 

excess of $100,000 per year, which requires them to pay their employees an hourly rate 

sufficient to at least equal 125% of the federal poverty guidelines for a family of four 

individuals calculated on the basis of a 40-hour work week for 52 weeks. 

(Attached is a copy of the Living Wage legislation)

4. The County plans to create a new Outreach Program Specialist position to plan and 

implement engagement and outreach initiatives with local businesses, minority business 

enterprises, and other organizations such as the Economic Development Authority and the

Chamber of Commerce in order to expand procurement opportunities to local businesses, 

especially those hit the hardest by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Use of Evidence 

With project selection not yet complete, it is too early to tell whether any of the funded projects 

will constitute evidence-based interventions. While no rigorous program evaluations designed 

to build evidence are being contemplated, achieving meaningful outputs is of the utmost 

importance. As such, program outputs and outcomes will be closely monitored. In the case of 

one or more “pilot” programs that have been proposed and may be selected, it is anticipated 

that data collection and analysis would be extensive such that program results can be used to 

inform future decision making. 

The County’s decisions regarding use of ARP SLFRF funding have been and will be informed 

by gathering evidence from a variety of sources. While the County has not engaged in a 

Learning Agenda process for ARP SLFRF funds or its broader policy agenda, its decisions are 

guided by many of the same principles that place a high value on ensuring inputs from a variety 

of sources, setting broad goals, capturing program outputs, conducting meaningful analysis and 

evaluating program outputs against overall goals.
Howard County, Maryland, 2021 Recovery Plan Performance Report 9

Table of Expenses by Expenditure Category

The County is still in process of developing its ARP SLFRF spending plan through a robust internal 

and public engagement process and has no reported expenditures incurred as of July 31, 2021.

Project Inventory 

The County is still in process of developing its ARP SLFRF spending plan through a robust internal 

and public engagement process and has no reported expenditure incurred as of July 31, 2021.

As a result, this report does not include any project inventory for expenditures incurred YTD. We 

will, in future reports, include such information based on the format and required information from 

the Treasury guideline.

Performance Report

The County is still in process of developing its ARP SLFRF spending plan with no reported 

expenditure incurred as of July 31, 2021. Similarly, we are in early stage of developing 

performance measures to track for projects to include in final multi-year ARP SLFRF spending 

plan. We will, in future reports, include both mandated performance measures for Housing 

Assistance, Negative Economic Impacts, Education Assistance, and Health Childhood 

Environment as listed in Treasury guidelines for each expenditure category and also other input, 

output, or outcome performance measures deemed useful and relevant, when different projects 

are implemented.