{"id":51640,"date":"2022-04-05T04:00:16","date_gmt":"2022-04-05T11:00:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newrcblog.wpengine.com\/us\/en\/blog\/?p=51640"},"modified":"2024-08-07T06:20:04","modified_gmt":"2024-08-07T13:20:04","slug":"how-to-prioritize-city-and-county-projects-to-leverage-federal-covid-relief-funding","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"\/us\/en\/blog\/how-to-prioritize-city-and-county-projects-to-leverage-federal-covid-relief-funding\/","title":{"rendered":"How to prioritize city and county projects to leverage federal COVID relief funding"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><b>Highlights<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">CARES provided $2.2 trillion in stimulus money, and the American Rescue Plan included $130 billion in flexible funding for capital projects.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Project prioritization is critical for city and county governments to optimize relief funds.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">City, town, and county managers identified water\/sewer and broadband as priorities.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Plans for relief fund management vary from internal staff to regional collaboration, outside consultation, or fund allocations to other entities.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\ud83d\udc40 Why do 63% of government leaders surveyed feel their internal communications initiatives are now very important? Grab our government research report to get some answers.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"download-form-widget enterprise-download-form\" data-url=\"https:\/\/netstorage.ringcentral.com\/ebook\/state-local-government-communications-and-collaboration.pdf\" data-id=\"69dc804a36bea\" id=\"69dc804a36bea\">\n\t\t<button tabindex=\"on\"  on=\"tap:69dc804a36bea.toggleClass(class='open')\" class=\"open-modal-download-action download-form-button\" type=\"submit\">\ud83d\udcd9 Get the report<\/button><\/p>\n<div class=\"download-form-modal\">\n<div class=\"download-form-modal-body\">\n<div class=\"download-form-modal-content\">\n<div class=\"download-form-modal-title\">\ud83d\udc40 \u200a\ud83d\udc40  Learn how the public sector is moving to cloud communications to more effectively support their new hybrid workforces.<\/div>\n<form class=\"download-form ENTERPRISE\" method=\"post\">\n<div class=\"download-form-part\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<input class=\"download-form-input\" aria-label=\"Full Name\" aria-required=\"true\" aria-invalid=\"false\" type=\"text\" name=\"fullname\" placeholder=\"Full Name\" data-dl-events-hover=\"true\" data-dl-element=\"text\" data-dl-additional-info=\"enterprise download form\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"download-form-part\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<input class=\"download-form-input\" aria-label=\"Email (please enter a work email address)\" aria-required=\"true\" aria-invalid=\"false\" type=\"email\" autocomplete=\"on\" name=\"email\" placeholder=\"Email (please enter a work email address)\" data-dl-events-hover=\"true\" data-dl-element=\"email\" data-dl-additional-info=\"enterprise download form\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"hidden\" name=\"popup_form\" value=\"1\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div><input type=\"hidden\" name=\"Asset_ID__c\" value=\"ODAM-02213\" class=\"download-form-input\"><\/div>\n<div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"hidden\" name=\"Lead_Entry_Source__c\" value=\"RC Blog Enterprise\" class=\"download-form-input\"\/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"download-form-part\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<button class=\"download-form-submit\" type=\"submit\" data-dl-element=\"button\" data-no-auto-dl=\"true\" data-dl-additional-info=\"enterprise download form\" data-dl-name=\"Get some answers\">Get some answers<\/button>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<button on=\"tap:69dc804a36bea.toggleClass(class='open')\" role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\"  class=\"download-form-modal-close\"><\/button>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"download-form-modal-thank\"> Enjoy!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>\t<\/span><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">COVID relief bills have created a massive, rare infusion of capital project funds that city and county governments can access. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, or CARES Act, and the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) made available billions of dollars across a variety of category-specific initiatives.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As your city or county government evaluates the most important projects on the horizon, consider opportunities for which allocated funds are available. In some cases, governments might move up plans for projects that offer relief funds to take advantage of the financial support.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"rc-subscribe\" id=\"new-rc-subscribe\"  style=\"background-image:url('\/us\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/themes\/ringcentral\/assets\/images\/temp\/subscribe.png')\">\n\t\t<button class=\"close js-popup-close\"><svg class=\"icon_close_mobile\" width=\"20\" height=\"20\"><use xlink:href=\"#icon_close_mobile\"><\/use><\/svg><\/button><\/p>\n<div class=\"rc-subscribe__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"rc-subscribe__wrapper_text\">\n<h3 class=\"rc-subscribe__title h2\">Stay informed with RingCentral<\/h3>\n<div class=\"rc-subscribe__subtitle\">Subscribe to our emails for the latest blogs, events, and exclusive content on AI-powered communication solutions. Stay ahead with insights and tips from the leader in trusted AI communications.<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/legal\/privacy-notice.html\" target=\"_blank\" data-dl-name=\"Privacy Notic\" data-dl-element=\"link\" data-dl-additional-info=\"social\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Privacy Notice<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"rc-subscribe__wrapper_form\">\n<form class=\"\" data-event-init=\"true\" novalidate data-js-form>\n<div class=\"rc-subscribe__row\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<input\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tname=\"email\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tplaceholder=\"Email address *\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\ttitle=\"Must be valid email. example@yourdomain.com\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tminlength=\"4\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tmaxlength=\"255\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\ttype=\"email\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\trequired\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tpattern=\"[a-z0-9._%+\\-]+@[a-z0-9.\\-]+\\.[a-z]{2,}$\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"field__control\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tautocomplete=\"on\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\taria-required=\"true\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tdata-dl-events-hover=\"true\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tdata-dl-element=\"email\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tdata-dl-additional-info=\"LET'S WORK TOGETHER\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\taria-label=\"Email address *\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\taria-errormessage=\"email-subscribe-errors\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"field__errors\" id=\"email-subscribe-errors\" data-js-form-field-errors><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"rc-subscribe__row\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<select\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tname=\"Country__c\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\trequired\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"field__control\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\taria-required=\"true\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\taria-expanded=\"false\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\taria-label=\"Country *\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\taria-errormessage=\"country-subscribe-errors\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t><option value=\"\" disabled=\"disabled\" selected=\"selected\">Country<\/option><option value=\"Canada\">Canada<\/option><option value=\"United_States\">United States<\/option><\/select><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"field__errors\" id=\"country-subscribe-errors\" data-js-form-field-errors><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"rc-subscribe__row\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<button type=\"submit\" data-event-init=\"true\">Subscribe<\/button>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"confirm-form\" role=\"status\" aria-live=\"polite\" style=\"display: none;\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\n<div class=\"confirm-form__text\">Thank you for your interest in RingCentral<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>\t<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>COVID relief funds: allocations and prioritizing projects<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The following is an overview of key allocations from the COVID relief legislation and how you might use these funds to complete vital projects in your community.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Overview of COVID relief funding<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The $2.2 trillion CARES Act was passed by Congress in March 2020, as a response to the COVID pandemic. The American Rescue Plan Act followed in March 2021. Deadlines have passed to apply for CARES funding, but many city, county, and state governments requested funding and are now developing project plans.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The ARPA was a more flexible, direct COVID relief funding bill with a sum of $130 billion intended to support the revitalization of housing, healthcare, work, business, transportation, and education. Though the money was allocated to particular project areas, local governments have a lot of flexibility when deciding how to best use the funds to support their communities.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Some of the deadlines have passed for local governments to apply for ARP funding. There is still time to submit requests for funding in some of the project <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/us\/en\/blog\/4-ways-state-governments-are-leveraging-funding\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">categories<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Types of projects under consideration<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The following graphs show the result of <\/span><\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/icma.org\/articles\/article\/local-leaders-identify-top-priorities-and-processes-rescue-plan-funds\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">surveys conducted by ICMA<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in September 2021. There were 530 town, city, and county managers that participated.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In the first graph, respondents identified projects their government was considering paying for with COVID relief funds. The responses are broken down into local governments, direct recipients, and non-entitlement units. Responses were consistent regardless of funding type.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Overwhelmingly, managers indicated that sewer and water and broadband infrastructure were top priorities. COVID relief funding and funding from the November 2021 Infrastructure Bill were directed at expanding broadband internet access. Over half of respondents also indicated that replacing lost public sector revenue to cover budgetary shortfalls was a priority. The other three common responses centered on health care, including offsetting the negative economic outcomes from the pandemic, public health investment, and premium pay for essential workers.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-51642\" src=\"\/us\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/eligible-expenses-graph.png\" alt=\"Graph titled &quot;In which of the following categories of eligible expenses is your local government actively considering spending its allocation of funding?&quot;\" width=\"930\" height=\"601\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The next graph shows the results from a question about more specific project types being considered with American Rescue Plan Act funds. It similarly shows water and sewer infrastructure, along with broadband infrastructure, as top priorities for local governments, direct recipients, and non-entitlement units. Public safety, small business, housing, and neighborhoods were among other projects most noted by responding managers.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-51643\" src=\"\/us\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/government-priorities.png\" alt=\"Graph titled &quot;Which of the following types of projects\/priorities is your local government looking to support with ARPA Fiscal Recovery Funds?&quot;\" width=\"930\" height=\"601\" \/><\/p>\n<h3><b>Strategies for optimizing COVID relief money<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One more chart from the ICMA shows the results of a question regarding how managers intend to facilitate their use of COVID funds. No option was universally identified or selected by a majority of respondents. Hiring new staff or using existing staff was a popular choice, as was collaborating regionally on a project.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Some managers indicated they would have a more hands-off approach. They would either bring on consultants to assist with fund management or allocate the funds to other entities for use.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-51644\" src=\"\/us\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/funds-management-strategies-graph.png\" alt=\"Graph titled &quot;Is your local government considering any of the following strategies related to overall fund management?&quot;\" width=\"930\" height=\"601\" \/><\/p>\n<h3><b>Prioritizing the right projects<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The real challenge for city and county government officials is deciding which projects to prioritize based on COVID funding opportunities. Local governments have 10- to 20-year plans that include various projects. Some are more emergent or urgent, whereas others normally get worked in over time as budgets allow.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The COVID funds create a unique dilemma because some of the projects the money can support may not currently sit at the top of your priority list. It may make sense to bump certain projects up to leverage this one-time financial support while it is still available. The relief funding bills include deadlines for spending the requested and approved money for projects.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Physical infrastructure projects, worker support initiatives, housing assistance, or other projects like these are right for some cities and counties. Many communities are prioritizing broadband expansion, given the significant money earmarked for digital infrastructure. The objective is to eliminate the digital divide between people in low-income and high-income areas or rural versus urban areas.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Managers responding to the ICMA survey were also asked whether they intended to prioritize existing projects (pre-COVID) or new projects to leverage relief funds. Slightly more respondents (44 percent of all local governments) said they would use relief funds for pre-COVID projects. One-third (33 percent of all local governments) planned to use the money for recovery-specific projects aligned with the American Rescue Plan Act.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"rc-post-content-cta rc-post-content-cta_green\">\n<div class=\"rc-post-content-cta-columns\">\n<div class=\"bottom-cta-img\">\n\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"930\" height=\"700\" src=\"\/us\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/state-local-infrastructure-bill.jpeg\" class=\"responsive-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"bottom-cta-copy\">\n<div class=\"headline-copy\" style=\"text-align:left;\"><\/span><b>UP NEXT: <\/b><strong>What passage of the Infrastructure Bill means for state and local governments<\/strong><b><\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"rc-post-content-cta-footer\">\n<div class=\"bottom-cta-logo-container\">\n<div class=\"bottom-cta-logo\"><span aria-hidden=\"true\"><svg 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banner\" data-no-auto-dl=\"true\">Read the blog<span class=\"svg-icon\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><svg width=\"24\" height=\"24\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"#000\" role=\"img\" aria-labelledby=\"cta-ring-arrow-1730193764\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<title id=\"cta-ring-arrow-1730193764\">Ring Central Logo<\/title>\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<path d=\"M0 11.5C0 11.2239 0.223858 11 0.5 11H21.6797C21.9559 11 22.1797 11.2239 22.1797 11.5V12.5C22.1797 12.7761 21.9559 13 21.6797 13H0.5C0.223858 13 0 12.7761 0 12.5V11.5Z\" ><\/path>\n\t\t\t\t\t<path fill-rule=\"evenodd\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"M21.1718 12.0001L15.8086 6.63691C15.6134 6.44165 15.6134 6.12506 15.8086 5.9298L16.5157 5.22269C16.711 5.02743 17.0276 5.02743 17.2228 5.22269L23.6467 11.6465C23.8419 11.8418 23.8419 12.1584 23.6467 12.3536L17.2228 18.7775C17.0276 18.9727 16.711 18.9727 16.5157 18.7775L15.8086 18.0704C15.6134 17.8751 15.6134 17.5585 15.8086 17.3633L21.1718 12.0001Z\" ><\/path>\n\t\t\t\t<\/svg><\/span><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>\t<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>The case for prioritizing digital communications infrastructure<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There are a number of ways that your city or county can make effective use of COVID relief funds. The options identified here are among the common ones being implemented by other local and county governments. The key to success is finding a project that effectively benefits your citizens while leveraging rare access to federal money.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The digital infrastructure priorities evidenced within the funding present some of the best project options because improving digital infrastructure can have an enormous impact on city or county internal processes in terms of efficiency and significant impacts on the citizens served by city or county agencies terms of community engagement.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">RingCentral for Government is a comprehensive cloud-based communications solution that boosts communication in any agency or office. It empowers your people to collaborate safely and seamlessly across all key channels internally and engage securely with your community externally. With RingCentral, your city or county has an all-in-one platform that includes phone, messaging, video, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/contact-center.html\">contact center<\/a> capabilities. RingCentral\u2019s centralized app simplifies your entire communications strategy, enabling a more nimble, responsive agency.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For more insight on the benefits of RingCentral, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/office\/industry-solutions\/government-agencies.html?__mscta=3124_91237_3444\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">see our government solutions<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> today.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Highlights CARES provided $2.2 trillion in stimulus money, and the American Rescue Plan included $130 billion in flexible funding for capital projects. Project prioritization is critical for city and county governments to optimize relief funds. City, town, and county managers identified water\/sewer and broadband as priorities. Plans for relief fund management vary from internal staff &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":51641,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[43191],"tags":[15656,970,43243],"class_list":["post-51640","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-government","tag-communications-systems","tag-government","tag-infrastructure-funding"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v19.3 (Yoast SEO v27.2) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>How to prioritize city and county projects to leverage federal COVID relief funding | RingCentral Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"COVID relief funding presents a unique opportunity to implement projects that typically aren\u2019t affordable. 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layout=\"fixed\"><\/img><\/span><span class=\"by-author-name\">RingCentral Team<\/span><\/a>","rc_author_full_name":"RingCentral Team","rc_author_avatar":"\/us\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/ringcentral-logo-new.png","rc_author_link":"\/us\/en\/blog\/author\/ringcentral-team\/amp","rc_post_categories":"<a href=\"\/us\/en\/blog\/category\/verticals\/government\/amp\">Government<\/a>","amp_link":"\/us\/en\/blog\/how-to-prioritize-city-and-county-projects-to-leverage-federal-covid-relief-funding\/amp","excerpt_title":"How to prioritize city and county projects to leverage 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