Shreveport Mayor Adrian Perkins has been holding community meetings across Shreveport to seek citizen input on funding priorities.
The mayor’s FB page also asks citizens to vote on priorities: public safety, infrastructure, economic development and technology.
Shreveport has received $24 million as the first tranche of funds from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA).
The mayor has also said he will propose an ad valorem tax bond issue on July 13.
Both the expenditure of ARPA funds and the bond proposals must be approved by the Shreveport City Council.
The Caddo Commission will receive a total of $46 million in ARPA funds. The Commission is now debating how to expend its first tranche of $23 million.
The Commission hopes to utilize citizen input from the Shreveport community meetings and supplement that with town hall meetings in north Caddo, Greenwood and south Caddo.
Although these two funding streams are similar in the goal to assist communities recover from the pandemic, the types of eligible costs and applicability of the two funds are quite different.
The CARES Act funding was to be utilized for necessary expenditures due to the COVID-19 public health emergency.
Examples of valid CARES Act expenses include:
A. COVID-related medical expenses for public hospitals and clinics as well as temporary public medical facilities to increase COVID-19 treatment.
B. Public health expenses for acquisition and distribution of medical and protective supplies, including sanitizing products and personal protective equipment.
C. Payroll expenses for public safety, public health, health care, human services and similar employees.
D. Expenses of actions to facilitate compliance with COVID-19-related public health measures including food delivery and telework capabilities.
E. Economic support such as grants to small businesses to reimburse the costs of business interruption, government payroll support and unemployment insurance costs related to the COVID-19 public health emergencies.
ARPA funding can be utilized to meet pandemic response needs and rebuild a stronger economy.
Examples of valid ARPA-authorized expenses include:
1. Support public health expenditures for COVID-19 mitigation efforts, medical expenses and certain public health and safety staff.
2. Address negative economic impacts caused by the pandemic, including economic harms to workers, households, small businesses, impacted industries and the public sector.
3. Replace lost public sector revenue for government services to the extent of reduction in revenue experienced due to the pandemic.
4. Provide premium pay for essential workers to provide additional support to those that have/will bear the greatest health risks because of service in critical infrastructure sectors.
5. Invest in water, sewer and broadband infrastructure to make necessary investments to improve access to clean drinking water, support vital wastewater/stormwater infrastructure and expand access to broadband internet.
CARES Act funding and ARPA funding are, at this time, only one time funding vehicles, and both utilize federal dollars.
Ad valorem tax propositions can be introduced by governing bodies (the city, the parish, the school board) and are funded by local tax assessments.
The utilization of funds from bond propositions are determined by the enabling millage language and continue during the term of the proposition.
Many of the citizen concerns at the community meetings can only be addressed by general obligation bonds like streets improvements, new police buildings and equipment purchases.