Waterfront Working Group — Portland, ME
Date: 2021-09-09
Time: 16:00

City Manager’s
 Waterfront Working Group
 Meeting Agenda
 VIA Zoom
Due to the existence of an emergency or urgent issue, the Waterfront Working Group will
conduct this meeting by remote methods/technology at the Zoom link provided below, in
accordance with the requirements of 1 M.R.S. section 403-B and the City Council's Remote
Participation Policy.

1. Zoom Public Meeting Information

 Please click the link below to join the webinar:
 https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82755752065?pwd=Zmt4NXlwbVpSY0x6bEpqbzRhb0Vwdz09
 Passcode: 613493
 Or One tap mobile :
 US: +16465588656,,82755752065# or +13017158592,,82755752065#
 Or Telephone:
 Dial(for higher quality, dial a number based on your current location):
 US: +1 646 558 8656 or +1 301 715 8592 or +1 312 626 6799 or +1 669 900 9128 or +1
 253 215 8782 or +1 346 248 7799
 Webinar ID: 827 5575 2065
 International numbers available: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kcT3ZxwljC

2. Welcome and Introductions: Brendan O’Connell, City Finance Director

 American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Funding Overview: Brendan
3.
 O’Connell

 See Attachment: ARPA - Working Waterfront Group Presentation 9/9/21


 Comments and feedback from Working Waterfront Group on use of
4.
 American Rescue Plan Act funds

5. Other Items

City Manager’s
 Waterfront Working Group
 Meeting Agenda
 VIA Zoom
Due to the existence of an emergency or urgent issue, the Waterfront Working Group will
conduct this meeting by remote methods/technology at the Zoom link provided below, in
accordance with the requirements of 1 M.R.S. section 403-B and the City Council's Remote
Participation Policy.

1. Zoom Public Meeting Information

 Please click the link below to join the webinar:
 https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82755752065?pwd=Zmt4NXlwbVpSY0x6bEpqbzRhb0Vwdz09
 Passcode: 613493
 Or One tap mobile :
 US: +16465588656,,82755752065# or +13017158592,,82755752065#
 Or Telephone:
 Dial(for higher quality, dial a number based on your current location):
 US: +1 646 558 8656 or +1 301 715 8592 or +1 312 626 6799 or +1 669 900 9128 or +1
 253 215 8782 or +1 346 248 7799
 Webinar ID: 827 5575 2065
 International numbers available: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kcT3ZxwljC

2. Welcome and Introductions: Brendan O’Connell, City Finance Director

 American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Funding Overview: Brendan
3.
 O’Connell

 See Attachment: ARPA - Working Waterfront Group Presentation 9/9/21


 Comments and feedback from Working Waterfront Group on use of
4.
 American Rescue Plan Act funds

5. Other Items




 Page 1
THE AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN ACT
PRESENTATION TO WATERFRONT WORKING GROUP - SEPTEMBER 9, 2021

 Page 2 1
AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN ACT OF 2021
$1.9 Trillion TOTAL
Municipal Portion (called the State and Local Fiscal Recovery
Funds or SLFRF) is $130 billion of the $1.9 trillion
 45.5 B allocated to Entitlement Communities utilizing a modified formula
 19.5 B to smaller jurisdictions under population basis
 Counties receiving $65B
Payments made to local governments in two tranches - first half 60
days after enactment, second half one year later.
City completed long US Treasury application and verification process
and has received first tranche payment.

 Page 3 2
 FUNDING FOR PORTLAND (AND
 OTHER ENTITLEMENT UNITS) IN MAINE



NOTE: There were minor changes in funding amounts in the final ARPA. South Portland was previously
an entitlement community but aligned itself with Cumberland County to provide the full county with
entitlement status in 2006. For ARPA payment purposes South Portland appealed their initial
treatment as a non-entitlement unit and received an increase in funding in from $2.5 to $10.5M.
- Other Towns/Cities (non-entitlement units) in Maine are all receiving smaller allocations.
- State Counties (including Cumberland, who will receive $57,300,87) are also receiving allocations.
- The State of Maine has also released their initial plans for the $4.5 billion invested by the American
Rescue Plan in the State of Maine 3
 Page 4
ELIGIBLE EXPENDITURES: GENERAL
RULES
Unless otherwise noted, covered period is March 3,
2021-December 31, 2024
 Costs can be committed by December 31, 2024 but must be expended by
 December 31, 2026
Cannot spend funds on pension deposits
States and territories cannot spend the funds to reduce taxes or
delay a tax increase
May not be used as non-Federal Match for other Federal Programs


 Page 5 4
USE OF FUNDS




 Page 6 5
  PUBLIC HEALTH EXPENDITURES

Services and programs to contain and mitigate the spread of COVID-19,
including:
  Vaccination programs (Portland is >90% vaccine rate according to latest data
released by the State of Maine (see chart to the right) so not considered high need)
  COVID texting and other related medical expenses
  Contact Tracing
  Personal protective equipment purchases
  Support of vulnerable populations to access medical or public health
  Capital investments in public facilities to meet pandemic operations needs
  Public communication efforts



 Page 7 6
 PUBLIC HEALTH EXPENDITURES

Services to address behavioral healthcare needs
exacerbated by the pandemic, including:
 Mental health treatment
 Substance use treatment
 Other behavioral health services
 Services or outreach to promote access to health and social services




 Page 8 7
  ADDRESS NEGATIVE ECONOMIC
  IMPACTS CAUSED BY THE PUBLIC
  HEALTH EMERGENCY
Supporting small businesses
Speeding the recovery of the tourism, travel, and hospitality sectors
Serving the hardest-hit communities and families
 Addressing health disparities and the social determinants of health
 Investments in housing and neighborhoods
 Addressing educational disparities
 Promoting healthy childhood environments
Delivering assistance to workers and families




 Page 9 8
REPLACE LOST REVENUE
Recipients may use these funds to replace lost revenue
Treasury’s Interim Final Rule establishes a methodology that each recipient can use to
calculate its reduction in revenue.
Ability to calculate this revenue loss for several years (with growth factor 4.1%)
Most flexible category of eligible expenses and funds can be used to sustain
municipal services, for maintenance and capital needs, cybersecurity, healthcare,
police, fire or pubic safety and more.
Calculation method is being developed and Treasury is still taking input on Interim
Final Rule.


 Page 10 9
PROVIDE PREMIUM PAY FOR ESSENTIAL
WORKERS DURING COVID19 EMERGENCY
Employees of the jurisdiction designated by executive as essential
Can be provided directly, or through grants to private employers to
public health/safety staff and essential workers outside the public
sector.




 Page 11 10
  INVEST IN WATER, SEWER, AND
  BROADBAND INFRASTRUCTURE
Necessary investments
Uses aligned with Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Water
Revolving Fund and Drinking Water State Revolving Fund to expedite
project identification
 Building/upgrading facilities and transmission, distribution, and storage systems,
 including the replacement of lead service lines
 Invest in wastewater infrastructure projects- constructing publicly-owned treatment
 infrastructure, managing and treating stormwater or subsurface drainage water,
 facilitating water reuse, and securing publicly-owned treatment works
Broadband Infrastructure
 Build broadband infrastructure with modern technologies in mind, specifically
 projects that deliver services offering: reliable 100 Mbps download and 100
 Mbps upload speeds
 Page 12 11
 REPORTING REQUIREMENTS
 GUIDING PRINCIPLES
- 34 pages of reporting requirements released earlier this week - staff review in progress
- Requirements include one initial interim report, quarterly reports, and in some cases annual reports
- Guidance addresses four priority areas for ensuring an equitable economic recovery:




 Page 13 12
  ARPA GUIDING PRINCIPLES
Temporary Nature of ARPA Funds
 Care should be taken to avoid creating new programs or add-ons to
 existing programs that require an ongoing financial commitment.
 Use of ARPA funds to cover operating deficits caused by COVID-19 should
 be considered temporary and additional budget restraint may be necessary
 to achieve/maintain structural balance in future budgets.
 Investment in critical infrastructure is particularly well suited use of ARPA
 funds because it is a non-recurring expenditure that can be targeted to
 strategically important long- term assets that provide benefits over many
 years.



 Page 14 13
  ARPA GUIDING PRINCIPLES
Take Time and Careful Consideration
 Use other dedicated grants and programs first whenever possible and save
 ARPA funds for priorities not eligible for other federal and state assistance
 programs.
 Whenever possible, expenditures related to the ARPA funding should be
 spread over the qualifying period (through December 31, 2024) to enhance
 budgetary and financial stability.
 Adequate time should be taken to carefully consider all alternatives for the
 prudent use of ARPA funding prior to committing the resources to ensure the
 best use of the temporary funding.


 Page 15 14
AGENDA FOR 7-22-2021 ARPA UPDATES
 Provide additional details on the State and Local Fiscal Recovery
 Funds (SLFRF) section of ARPA and new updates that have been
 released since last Finance Committee meeting.
 Provide links to key sources of information where more information
 can be found on the American Rescue Plan, SLFRF and FAQ with
 more details on eligible expenditures.
 Provide updates on the public process, City staff process, and
 introduce the public facing City ARPA website and comment portal


 Page 16 15
ARPA Updates - June & July 2021
Interim Final Rule (151 page document) public comment period closed on
Friday, July 16th. City submitted feedback and question responses
(example questions from Interim Final Rule included below).
https://home.treasury.gov/system/files/136/SLFRPFAQ.pdf




 Page 17 16
ARPA Updates - June & July 2021

SLFRF Frequently Asked Questions Document has been released
Updates being made multiple times weekly based on questions and
feedback received (including updates on July 14th and July 19th).
Document provinces key insights into what will likely be contained in
the Final Rule
https://home.treasury.gov/system/files/136/SLFRPFAQ.pdf
Example Q&A on next slide


 Page 18 17
ARPA June and July Updates - Samples from
US Treasury Frequently Asked Questions Document
https://home.treasury.gov/system/files/136/SLFRPFAQ.pdf




 Page 19 18
ARPA June and July Updates - Samples from
US Treasury Frequently Asked Questions Documen
https://home.treasury.gov/system/files/136/SLFRPFAQ.pdf




 Page 20 19
ARPA June and July Updates - Samples from
US Treasury Frequently Asked Questions Document




  https://home.treasury.gov/system/files/136/SLFRPFAQ.pdf
 Page 21 20
LINKS TO KEY ARPA AND SLFRF DOCUMENTS
Document Title (# of pages) Description Link

American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 State and The general landing page for the ARPA https://home.treasury.gov/policy-issues/coronav
Local Fiscal Recovery Funds website State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds irus/assistance-for-state-local-and-tribal-govern
 ments/state-and-local-fiscal-recovery-funds

Full Text - American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (242 Full text of the American Rescue Plan Act https://www.congress.gov/117/bills/hr1319/
pages) (State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds BILLS-117hr1319enr.pdf
 section is on pages 220 - 233).

Interim Final Rule - State and Local Fiscal The US Department of Treasury’s initial https://home.treasury.gov/system/files/136/F
Recovery Funds (151 pages) implementation guidance (interim only, not RF-Interim-Final-Rule.pdf
 expected to be finalized until late summer
 2021) containing more details on SLFRF
 and eligible categories of expenses


State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds - Complete list of frequently asked questions https://home.treasury.gov/system/files/136/
Frequently Asked Questions As of July 19, 2021 and responses from the US Treasury on SLFRPFAQ.pdf
(42 pages) implementation. Excellent source of more
 detailed information, updated frequently.

State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds Contains detailed information on the https://home.treasury.gov/system/files/136/
Compliance and Reporting Guidance (35 pages) reporting requirements for entities which SLFRF-Compliance-and-Reporting-Guidanc
 receive funding (including subrecipients). e.pdf
 Page 22 21
 NEXT STEPS
Public facing website and public comment portal has been released
 https://portland.civilspace.io/en
 Public comment portal now opened on the CivilSpace
 Public health survey has been launched
 Business community survey has been launched
Staff awaiting Final Rule from US Treasury (fall 2021)
Public forum scheduled for Monday, September 13th
City Manager will compile staff and public comments received via email
and portal for release to Council

 Page 23 22
City ARPA website → https://portland.civilspace.io/




 Page 24 23
THE AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN
ACT
Comments / Feedback Page 25 24