[City of Dallas, TX]

Recovery Plan 

State and Local Fiscal Recovery 

Funds

2021 August 31, Interim Report
[City of Dallas, TX] August 31, 2021 Interim Recovery Plan Performance Report 1

GENERAL OVERVIEW

Executive Summary 

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, President Biden signed $1.9 trillion for the American Rescue Plan 

Act of 2021 (ARPA) into law on March 11, 2021. The City of Dallas was allocated $355.4 million for Local 

Fiscal Recovery through ARPA. Eligible uses for these funds include: (1) respond to COVID-19 or its 

economic impacts; (2) replace revenue lost due to COVID-19; (3) provide premium pay for eligible 

essential workers; and (4) invest in water, sewer, and broadband infrastructure. The funds are being 

transferred to the City from the U.S. Department of Treasury in two tranches with the first received in 

May 2021, and the second to be received by May 2022. These funds are being allocated to support the FY 

2021-22 and FY 2022-23 biennial budget and further our commitment to making Responsible, Equitable, 

Accountable, and Legitimate (R.E.A.L.) investments in the city. The following tables outline the City’s 

proposed use the $355.4 million of Local Fiscal Recovery funds received through the American Rescue 

Plan Act. 

Development of the City’s FY 2021-22 and FY 2022-23 biennial budget is ongoing. Since May, the City has 

conducted three telephone town hall meetings that reached more than 17,000 residents, including 1,670 

Spanish speakers and 6,500 residents age 65 and older. Telephone town hall meetings included polling 

questions and a voluntary survey was posted online in English and Spanish from June 2 through June 23 

to receive input around residents’ financial situation and needs considering COVID-19. Additional 

community engagement activities conducted through July 31 also included listening sessions with clients, 

service recipients, citizen advisory boards, and numerous meetings with community organizations for 

feedback. The City Manager’s recommended use of ARPA funds will be presented to the City Council in 

August 2021. Additional community engagement activities will be conducted to include over 30 virtual, 

in-person and telephone town hall meetings. City stall will participate in local Eviction Prevention Task 

Force meetings, Early Matters Dallas coalition meetings, South Dallas Employment Project Task Force 

meetings, met with Dallas Afterschool, and others. A nonprofit survey will be developed to send out to 

better understand community and nonprofit needs. Final adoption of the ARPA budget, with any 

potential amendments, is scheduled for September 22,2021.

Use of Funds

The City proposes to use ARPA funds to provide immediate public health relief and long-term 

sustainability by investing in:

• Health & Safety

• Economic Development

• Fiscal Recovery & Sustainability

• Infrastructure
[City of Dallas, TX] August 31, 2021 Interim Recovery Plan Performance Report 2

Health & Safety - $76 million

The City will meet public health needs by investing $76 million in ARPA funds on health and safety. These 

projects, supplies, and equipment will provide immediate support for residents and City staff during the 

COVID-19 pandemic. The timeline for providing these services will be in the next six months to a year. This 

funding includes:

ARPA Item Amount

COVID-19 testing and vaccinations $ 19,000,000

Personal protective equipment and disinfection supplies 10,000,000

Eliminate backlog of paramedic training 8,500,000

Replace 35 rescues including stretcher, Lifepak15, and disinfecting UV 

equipment

11,500,000

Equip Dallas Fire & Rescue (DFR) to meet public health needs, including 

handheld radios, chest compression devices, priority dispatch software, and 

medication inventory management systems

5,000,000

Retrofit City facilities, including air filtration improvements, remote monitoring 

and control, duct cleaning, and other retrofits

21,000,000

Install air quality monitors 1,000,000

TOTAL Health & Safety 76,000,000
[City of Dallas, TX] August 31, 2021 Interim Recovery Plan Performance Report 3

Economic Development - $44 million

The City will provide short-term and long-lasting investments in the community by using $44 million in 

ARPA funds on economic development. For immediate relief (six months to one year) the City will 

support people in crisis by providing social services such as mental health support, services for children 

and families, food and essential services, benefits and financial navigation, nonprofit assistance, and 

contract oversight and technology. The City will also leverage $500,000 in APRA funds to provide 

eviction assistance services to keep residents in their homes during the pandemic. The City is pursuing 

local solutions at scale to leverage partnerships to optimize resources regionally. A long-term 

investment includes a partnership with Metro Dallas Homeless Alliance (MDHA), the lead agency of the 

local Continuum of Care, for a rapid rehousing initiative that will house over 2,700 people experiencing 

homelessness over the next two years. Economic development funding includes:

ARPA Item Amount

Support people in crisis by providing targeted and equitable social services (see 

Appendix)

$ 25,900,000

Provide eviction assistance services 500,000

Provide City Council District funding for relief to small businesses, nonprofits, or 

impacted industries based on established criteria

16,000,000

Partner with MDHA for Rapid-Rehousing initiative 1,600,000

TOTAL Economic Development 44,000,000

Fiscal Recovery & Sustainability - $130 million

The City will replace lost revenue and take actions to further fiscal sustainability by investing $130 

million in ARPA funds on fiscal recovery and sustainability. These funds will be used to upgrade financial 

systems and provide three years of program implementation and monitoring. ARPA funds will be used to 

supplement the City of Dallas General Fund budget and fund one-time or non-recurring expenses in 

FY22, FY23, and FY24. The timeline for spending these funds will be three years. This funding includes:

APRA Item Amount

ARPA implementation, compliance, and auditing $ 7,000,000

ARPA communication and marketing 3,000,000

Replace lost revenue 120,000,000

TOTAL Fiscal Recovery & Sustainability 130,000,000
[City of Dallas, TX] August 31, 2021 Interim Recovery Plan Performance Report 4

Infrastructure - $105.4 million

The City will fuel results through bold resource investments by using $105.4 million in ARPA funds on 

infrastructure. These projects will encourage affordable housing, extend water and wastewater services, 

and bridge the digital divide. The timeline for spending these funds will be three years. This funding 

includes:

ARPA Item Amount

Extend Dallas Water Utilities (DWU) water and wastewater service to occupied 

areas of city that are currently unserved

$ 37,400,000

Install water and wastewater infrastructure in partnership with development of 

affordable housing units

10,000,000

Bridge digital divide through broadband investment

• Wi-Fi at Park & Recreation facilities - $3M

• Broadband infrastructure in partnership with other entities - $40M

43,000,000

Add automation to securely and effectively deliver City services online 15,000,000

TOTAL Infrastructure 105,400,000

The proposed budget allocates $37.4 million dollars from the ARPA t to complete the Unserved Areas 

projects in half the time. Within the next four years, the City’s goal is to place into service and complete 

all the design and construction of the infrastructure improvements necessary to serve all occupied areas 

in the city of Dallas. The budget also proposes to use $10 million in federal ARPA funding to install water 

and sewage infrastructure to incentivize the development of mixed income housing citywide. The 

program will cover up to 100 percent of infrastructure costs for developments that foster both affordable 

and unrestricted market rate housing, prioritizing single family developments that set aside 20 percent of 

homes to be sold to households earning between 60 percent and 80 percent of Area Median Income, and 

mixed income multifamily developments that set aside 20 percent of units to be rented at an unrestricted 

market rate. This program will encourage developments with a greater inclusion of affordable units in 

areas of opportunity, support quality market rate housing in historically disinvested neighborhoods, and 

provide additional opportunities for affordable homeownership. 

The City is devoting $3 million in ARPA funding to add Wi-Fi to 63 geographically dispersed park locations 

in high priority zip codes, as one of many efforts to bridge the digital divide. The locations include 42 

recreation centers, 19 aquatics facilities, one athletic facility, and one skate rink. Utilizing $40 million in 

ARPA funding in partnership with other entities in the region, we will step into the gap left by the private 

sector to ensure all Dallas households have access to critical internet service. Our investment in internet 

infrastructure will have an equity lens and focus on historically underserved areas. The Broadband and 

Digital Equity Strategic plan is a collaboration between the City, Dallas Independent School District (DISD), 

and the Internet for All Coalition to provide all households in Dallas with high-speed, reliable internet, and 

access to devices in their homes. The project aims to identify digital equity issues, broadband gaps, and 

to develop solutions to ensure all Dallas residents and DISD students have access to high-speed home 

broadband service.
[City of Dallas, TX] August 31, 2021 Interim Recovery Plan Performance Report 5

Community Engagement 

ARPA funds will be used for communication and outreach to increase equitable outcomes for hard to 

reach communities. Fair Park Multimedia Center and Language Access Center of Excellence will advance 

equity by creating original and multilingual content reaching Dallas residents including those with lowliteracy and Limited English Proficiency (LEP). Original content will be created in Spanish for the Spanish 

cable access channel. City departments and include outreach to anchor institutions and partner 

organizations servicing resident throughout the city. The City will work in partnership with multicultural 

media outlets, nonprofits, small businesses, and other intergovernmental and quasi-governmental 

agencies in reducing disparities by increasing residents’ access to City services and programs. The City will 

develop and implement a department metric to measure its partnership work and evaluate the reduction 

of disparities. The City will build on the success of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act 

(CARES) and Coronavirus Relief Fund funded communications and outreach to increase community 

engagement through targeted paid messaging with multicultural and non-English speaking publications 

serving communities of color using ARPA funds. 

Labor Practices 

The City of Dallas has adopted the Davis-Bacon Wage Rates, as published online by the U.S. Department 

of Labor, as the minimum acceptable rates of per diem wages for public works contracts, including public 

building construction and highway/heavy construction contracts. The Davis-Bacon Wage Rates are 

reviewed and updated annually to ensure contracts reflect the latest Davis-Bacon Wage Rates. 

Use of Evidence

As part of the 100 Resilient Cities pioneered by The Rockefeller Foundation (100RC), the City of Dallas 

developed a strategic plan to enhance the capacity of its individuals, communities, institutions, 

businesses, and systems to adapt, grow and thrive in the face of both shocks (traumatic events, both 

natural and man-made) and more long-term, chronic stresses (poverty and housing shortages). Resilient 

Dallas, the first holistic resilience strategy in the city’s history, is a new approach to shaping a thriving, 

equitable city, and is the product of extensive community participation. The Resilient Dallas goals include: 

• Advance equity in City government

• Ensure Dallas is a Welcoming City to immigrants and all residents

• Increase economic mobility for Dallas’ vulnerable and marginalized residents

• Ensure Dallas provides residents with reasonable, reliable and equitable access

• Leverage partnerships to promote healthy communities

• Invest in neighborhood infrastructure to revitalize historically underserved neighborhoods

• Promote sustainability to improve public health and alleviate adverse environmental conditions
[City of Dallas, TX] August 31, 2021 Interim Recovery Plan Performance Report 6

Data for the desired outcome is researched and used dependent on how well it is it disaggregated by race, 

gender, Council district and/or geographic area. Key issues for determination include “For whom, when 

and/or where do we achieve the desired outcome?” It is through this analysis that the City identifies the 

communities who are most impacted and why are these communities impacted disproportionately. This 

approach holistically incorporates many of the concerns and goals address by ARPA funds.

Where specific geographic distribution does not apply but there is still a demonstrated need to address 

equity, the City makes relevant services available to eligible individuals and /or households on a citywide 

basis. With an estimated 1.3 million people residing in the city of Dallas, approximately 52.8 percent 

(706,884) are considered low/moderate income. The Office of the White House, National Strategy for the 

COVID-19 Response and Pandemic found that while the pandemic affected communities across the 

country, it disproportionately impacted some groups and communities, resulting in an exacerbation of 

pre-existing disparities. 

The City of Dallas' definition of racial equity is a situation that is achieved when people are thriving and 

race no longer statistically dictates, determines, or predicts one's social outcome or ability to thrive. Equity 

is a critical factor in individual, family, neighborhood, and community success over a number of metrics -

economic, education, housing, health, and access to public facilities and essential services.

On March 24, 2021, the City Council approved a Racial Equity Resolution. The this resolution, the City of 

Dallas reaffirmed its deep resolve to promote racial equity, inclusion, and diversity in all aspects of city 

government and pledged to demonstrate its commitment to racial equity through equitable investment 

and future funding decisions for specific projects, inclusive practices, and socially just policies. 

Expenses by Expenditure Category 

As of July 31, 2021 – No ARPA funds have been spent. Budget deliberations are 

ongoing. 
[City of Dallas, TX] August 31, 2021 Interim Recovery Plan Performance Report 7

APPENDIX
[City of Dallas, TX] August 31, 2021 Interim Recovery Plan Performance Report 8

Support people in crisis by providing targeted and equitable social services - $25.9M 

Breakdown

Mental Health 

Mental Health (CMH, 

MIPOC/AAPA) $2,400,000.00

Community Mental Health programming, 

including individual counseling, group counseling 

and mental health outreach and education

Mental Health – grief, stress, 

PTSD

$1,200,000.00 Individual counseling and group counseling 

services targeting highly impacted communities

Seniors – Isolation Support $ 750,000.00 Services targeting older adults, particularly 

homebound seniors

Children and 

Families 

Family Violence Prevention / 

Intervention

$ 2,250,000.00 Treatment, counseling and other services for 

prevention, including near-fatality 

prediction/prevention, and intervention of family 

violence

Positive Youth Development / 

Academic Support 

$ 3,250,000.00 Positive youth development programming, such 

as afterschool programming, academic support, 

and training 

Home Visiting Programs $ 2,000,000.00 Home visiting services to homes of newborns, 

proven to promote safety and improve infant 

health outcomes

Food and 

Essentials

Food – Distribution $ 2,400,000.00 Support of various food distribution programs 

throughout the City

Food – Home Delivery $ 1,400,000.00 Delivery of food and grocery items to individuals 

sick or quarantined due to COVID-19 

Food – Food Banks Support $ 800,000.00 Support to local food banks to help keep shelves 

stocked and able to serve clients in need

Food – Garden Kits $ 2,000,000.00 Home garden kits enable homebound individuals 

to grow healthy produce items to supplement 

diets

Essential Necessities $ 1,000,000.00 Critical non-food items, such hygiene products, 

diapers, period products, adult diapers, for 

distribution to high need communities

Benefits / 

Financial 

Navigation

Benefit Navigation (Bene-Dallas) $ 2,750,000.00 Following best practice model of Benefits Trust, a 

single stop opportunity integrating benefits access 

and application to simplify process for clients

Expanded Tax Preparation and 

Consultation Services

$ 800,000.00 Expanding free tax preparation service availability 

and supplementing and strengthening year-round 

tax guidance 

Financial Navigation $ 300,000.00 Financial Navigators help guide residents in need 

through complicated financial services landscape 

to find programming and services than can 

support their unique needs

Nonprofits 

Assistance 

Child Care Providers Assistance $ 1,000,000.00 Small grants to childcare providers to mitigate 

negative financial impact from pandemics

Nonprofits Assistance Programs $ 2,600,000.00 Small grants to nonprofit organizations to mitigate 

negative financial impact from pandemic

Service Design Support $ 100,000.00 Project based support for service design 

improvements related to database development 

and management, contract management, 

program workflow
[City of Dallas, TX] August 31, 2021 Interim Recovery Plan Performance Report 9

Contracts 

Oversight and 

Technology 

Contract Management Software 

Enhancements

$ 200,000.00 Explore opportunities to integrate enhanced 

contract management and reporting via current 

or new contract management system software

Facilities Upgrades / Lease Costs $ 250,000.00 Additional officing for ERA and ARPA staff, 

potential facility with Highland Hills community 

Client CRM Management $ 200,000.00 System to manage client progress, client and 

partner contacts, create and management client 

and communication lists, etc.