New GREATER MSP resource reveals city and county plans for spending $1.2B of American Rescue Plan Act funds

SAINT PAUL, Minn., July 18, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) includes one of the largest and most flexible investments ever made by the federal government into Minnesota cities and counties. Thanks to the newly released MSP ARPA Tracker created by the GREATER MSP Partnership, decisions made by cities and counties to allocate ARPA funds are now visible publicly.

The MSP ARPA Tracker (mspfederalfundinghub.org/arpatracker) is a searchable, easy-to-use digital resource that tracks the spending plans of 12 counties and 17 cities in the Greater MSP region. (Cities with fewer than 50,000 residents are not included, due to a different ARPA funding process.) Combined, these local governments are receiving $1.2 billion in flexible funding via the American Rescue Plan Act's Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds program (SLFRF).

The MSP ARPA Tracker reflects plans made by cities and counties for how they will use the funding. this data is based on detailed research into the city council and county board decisions and documents. City and county staff from across the region collaborated with GREATER MSP to compile the information.

"The MSP ARPA Tracker creates transparency into how cities and counties in our region are prioritizing $1.2 billion in flexible federal funding," said Peter Frosch, President & CEO of the GREATER MSP Partnership. "The decisions these cities and counties make now regarding their ARPA funds are incredibly important to our future. Maximizing the opportunity with ARPA funding could make our region more inclusive, safe, vibrant and competitive for decades to come. This is our chance to jumpstart a generation of growth and prosperity in the Greater MSP region," he said.

In addition to revealing the plans for individual counties and cities, the MSP ARPA Tracker enables users to combine the spending plans of local governments across the region to reveal trends and shared priorities.

Initial analysis of the data reveals:

• Overall, government operations comprise the largest category of spending, at 32% ($252 million) of committed funds. This category includes fiscal-health recovery, government-employee wages or hiring, investment in government facilities, equipment or IT, and other government investment.
• Housing is the next largest category, with governments committing 25% ($193 million) of all funds. The largest portion of funds ($115 million) is going to affordable housing projects.
• Other categories include public health (12%, $93 million), economic and workforce development (12%, 92 million), infrastructure (10%, $81 million), public safety (7%, $51 million) and community aid (2%, $14 million). 

Analyzing data from the MSP APRA Tracker alongside a national database on ARPA spending created by the Brookings Institution makes it possible to benchmark the Greater MSP region against the U.S. overall. Compared to large cities and counties across the country, our region's local governments have committed:

• Nearly three times more toward housing, at 24.8% of all commitments, versus the national average of 8.6%. 
• Significantly less toward government operations investments, at 32.3% versus the national average of 42.5%. 
• Innovative investments to address our region's racial inequities, such as programs helping to close the racial homeownership gap and the digital divide. 

For more high-level findings, read our fact sheet or go to the Tracker. 

The MSP ARPA Tracker is a first-of-its kind resource in the United States. No other metro region has a quick and easy way to search where ARPA resources are being budgeted in every part of their region. That means the Greater MSP region has a clearer view than most places in the country on how local governments are making decisions about their ARPA funds.

Development of the MSP ARPA Tracker is part of a larger, long-term partnership between GREATER MSP and cities and counties with the aim of increasing access to federal funding opportunities. "After the ARPA bill was signed into law, we got calls from cities and counties wondering what they could do through GREATER MSP to maximize the positive long-term impact of these dollars," Frosch said. "Together, we built a federal funding hub in the GREATER MSP Partnership to make it easier for dozens of cities and counties to work together, be efficient and innovate for success."

The data in the MSP ARPA Tracker is current through March 2022 – one year since passage of the American Rescue Plan Act. GREATER MSP will consider updating the Tracker to reflect funding commitments made after March 2022 later this year. The MSP ARPA Tracker was built with funding provided by GREATER MSP's 100 private- and public-sector investors along with contributions from the Joyce Foundation and Bush Foundation.

GREATER MSP is the economic development partnership for the 15-county Minneapolis Saint Paul region. Over 300 leading businesses, universities, cities, counties, philanthropies, and others are working together to accelerate the competitiveness of the regional economy and drive inclusive economic growth by creating jobs, expanding our labor force, and increasing investment. For more information go to greatermsp.org.

SOURCE GREATER MSP