Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) Secretary Dennis Davin announced that counties, metropolitan cities, and local governments are now able to request their portion of federal Local Fiscal Recovery funding provided by the American Rescue Plan.
“Today, county and municipal governments are able to request the Local Fiscal Recovery funds that have been made available to them by the American Rescue Plan,” said Sec. Davin. “This funding provides immediate relief for local governments that have seen unprecedented fiscal challenges due to COVID-19. I encourage every county, city, and municipal government to take advantage of these funds that will help them recover from the pandemic and chart a course for long-term growth.”
As part of the American Rescue Plan signed by President Joseph R. Biden, the federal government is providing a total of approximately $6.15 billion to Pennsylvania counties, metropolitan cities, and local government units to support COVID-19 response efforts, replace lost revenue, support economic stabilization for households and businesses, and address systemic public health and economic challenges.
The U.S. Department of Treasury has established two separate methods for local governments to request these funds, depending on the type of local government:
- County governments and metropolitan city governments must request funds directly from the U.S. Department of the Treasury via their Submission Portal webpage.
- Local governments that are NOT metropolitan cities or counties – called non-entitlement units of local government (NEUs) – must request the funds through the commonwealth by visiting the DCED website.
Due to Treasury’s requirements that states disburse all Local Fiscal Recovery funding within 30 days of the state receiving the federal funds, DCED strongly recommends that NEUs request their funding in the next five days to allow adequate processing time for each request.
Information about how to request funds, eligible uses for the funding, and federal allocation amounts for counties, cities, and NEUs can be found on the DCED website and the U.S. Department of Treasury website. Local governments with further questions about accessing these funds should email covidarpa@pa.gov.