The Mills Administration unveiled a fiscal recovery program to distribute $119.2 million in Federal funding from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) to local governments across Maine. The Local Fiscal Recovery Program is a State pathway to infuse Federal funds into Maine towns and cities to support a variety of their economic recovery priorities, such as addressing the economic or public health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, replacing lost public sector revenue, or investing in water, sewer, and broadband infrastructure.
The Mills Administration applied for the Local Fiscal Recovery Funds from the U.S. Treasury and has received $59.6 million for immediate distribution, with a second tranche of equal value expected in approximately one year and to be distributed at that time. As part of the program , the Department of Administrative and Financial Services has also unveiled an online portal through which Maine municipalities can request the Federal funding.
Local Fiscal Recovery Funds will be issued to local governments across Maine based upon their relative share of the non-entitlement unit population, not to exceed the amount equal to 75 percent of the most recent municipal budget as of January 27, 2020 in accordance with guidance from the U.S. Treasury.
The Local Fiscal Recovery Program is part of a more than $4.5 billion Federal investment in Maine from ARPA, which also includes stimulus payments to Maine families, recovery efforts like bolstering public health including COVID-19 testing and vaccinations, broadband infrastructure, and direct payments to Maine’s county governments and so-called “entitlement” cities. The remaining approximately $1 billion in ARPA funding to Maine will be used to deploy the Maine Jobs & Recovery Plan, the Mills Administration’s investment into strategic priorities such as childcare, workforce housing, clean drinking water, workforce development, energy efficiency, and heritage industries, among other priorities identified in hopes to sustain and grow Maine’s economy.