Townships have until Dec. 31, 2024, to obligate their allocation of federal ARPA funds. If your township has not already done so or has not fully obligated the money—distributed to local and state governments to mitigate the fiscal impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic—you should make plans now in order to meet the deadline. ARPA funds must be fully spent by Dec. 31, 2026. According to U.S. Treasury’s “Reporting and Compliance” Guidance, updated Dec. 14, 2023, if the funds are not obligated or spent by these deadlines, they must be returned to U.S. Treasury.
As a reminder, townships that did not choose the standard allocation option, which allowed use up to $10 million to be used for general government services, can use the funds for the specific purposes, including making necessary investments in water, sewer and broadband infrastructure, addressing the negative economic impacts of the pandemic, and emergency relief from natural disasters, among others. See MTA’s “Federal COVID-19 Relief Funding” webpage and U.S. Treasury’s web resources for additional information and guidance.