Some smaller municipalities are becoming overwhelmed by the level of funding under the bipartisan infrastructure bill President Biden is signing Monday afternoon.
That was a revelation during the National League of Cities 2021 Virtual Summit Monday.
“This is a once in a generation investment in the infrastructure that keeps Americans and our economy moving,” Irma Esparza Diggs, director of federal advocacy for the National League of Cities said. “The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act now includes $550 billion in new federal investments in America's infrastructure, and will add an estimated 2 million jobs per year to the national economy.”
But as panelists cheered on the historic investment to America’s infrastructure, they also pressured local leaders to lean in and take advantage of the historic levels of local funding stemming from this bill.
“Not only are we dealing with the fresh infusion of funds but we're still dealing with last year's money that we're just now accessing,” said Diane Rath, executive director, Alamo Area Council of Governments, a political subdivision of the State of Texas. “That’s why it's so overwhelming.”
As many local governments are still dealing with the aftermath of COVID-19 related policies, the prospect of even more funding from the bipartisan infrastructure and the Build Back Better reconciliation bill is even beginning to frighten some smaller communities.
“Many of our smaller communities are really frightened,” Rath said. “Many of us learned from the funding available after 2008 to be very cautious, to really pay attention to that guidance, and take advantage of the technical assistance that you've heard discussed today so that you can understand the flexibility of the funds but also the restrictions of the funds.”
Some of Rathe’s members were even reluctant to accept any of the CARES or ARPA funds provided by Congress , knowing the administrative burden that plagued them following the last economic downturn.
“Several of them were hesitant to even accept the [CARES and ARPA] funds, which would be a tragedy if you don't take advantage of this funding source,” she said.
But both the bipartisan infrastructure and the Build Back Better reconciliation bills have much more of a regional focus in allocating funds, Rath said, compared with previous bills.
“While the bulk of the funding is going to be routed through the states, rather than directly to cities, there are some programs that are available as competitive grants that cities can access,” Carolyn Berndt, legislative director for sustainability, federal advocacy at the National League of Cities said. “In addition, some of that state funding is explicitly intended to pass through to localities.”
Localities can access funding directly via the $1 billion Enabling Middle Mile Broadband Infrastructure competitive grant program in addition to the $1.3 billion Digital Equity Act grant program.
But the infrastructure bill does include new features to help municipalities work directly with transportation authorities.
“For the first time, in a reauthorization, we're seeing a shift from local governments having to go through their [Metropolitan Planning Organization], or through their state, or through their transit agency to use federal programs,” said Brittney Kohler, legislative director, transportation and infrastructure, National League of Cities. “We're seeing a new opportunity for cities to work directly with USDOT.”
But that doesn't mean that municipalities or counties shouldn’t seek partners with other internal agencies as these processes roll out, Kohler said.
“There's a shift in a positive direction towards really making this direct and efficient for local governments,” she added. “But there's also lots of opportunities to start collaborating, particularly with your metropolitan planning organizations or your rural planning organizations that can really be helpful to you.”
NLC has also developed a tracking tool to allow cities to sort their infrastructure projects by what they need, and the portal will help to provide them with the necessary steps to apply and secure that funding.
“Smaller communities are so used to operating on a shoestring,” Rath said. “They're so used to saving dollars until they have enough to make an investment and this really is the opposite approach with that timeline, on the expenditures, they really do need to have a plan and they have to start moving and investing very quickly.”
