Presented by Matthew Hanson, Witt O’Brien’s

What role do private-public partnerships play in maximizing federal investments in capital projects?

Beyond physical infrastructure investments, how can jurisdictions take advantage of ARPA/BIL programs for technical assistance? Feasibility studies? Workforce development?

The enactment of the American Rescue Plan and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) represent a massive federal investment in the vast array of services state and local governments provide to residents. Some of these programs that jurisdictions can take advantage of are one-time investments, such as the ARPA Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund. Others are new and are still under development and have the potential to be altered based on challenges in the programs’ early years. What are some existing federal programs that were reauthorized and/or received increased funding in these bills that can supplement these new federal programs?

These programs all come with oversight and audit requirements. Many underserved and rural counties would benefit extraordinarily from the investments included in the BIL/IIJA, however many jurisdictions are understaffed and have very limited budgets, and therefore lack the capacity to undertake the requirements of the federal award-making process. The OMB released guidance allowing jurisdictions that received less than $10 million in ARPA funds and less than $750,000 in non-ARPA funds in a single fiscal year to opt for streamlined financial review rather than undergoing the single audit.

Has the OMB released technical assistance guidance for BIL? How can jurisdictions take advantage of technical assistance available at the federal level?

Learning Objectives:

• BIL current and potential funding opportunities
• Best practices for preparing for and applying for funding
• Benefits of Intergovernmental Coordination