ELGIN – Elgin will use the federal government’s standard allowance for revenue loss, which is part of the American Rescue Plan Act, for providing city services.
The Elgin City Council voted April 21 to earmark the city’s entire ARPA allocation – approximately $558,556 – for the general provision of government services.
Congress provided $65 billion in pandemic relief money to cities across the country in the ARPA, which was adopted in March 2021, according to the council’s resolution. That money is designed to ensure that local governments have the resources they need to fight the pandemic and help families coping with its impact.
The Fiscal Recovery Funds provision in ARPA provided $19.53 billion in payments to states and territories, which distributed the money to local units of government.
ARPA rules offer cities a standard allowance of up to $10 million to offset revenue losses, allowing recipients to choose between a standard amount of revenue loss or a full calculation of those losses, according to the resolution. Recipients who choose the standard allowance may use that amount – which may be the full award in some cases – to cover the cost of providing government services.