Local Fiscal Recovery Fund Spending Plan Template

BACKGROUND

Under the American Rescue Plan Coronavirus Local Fiscal Recovery Fund (FRF), eligible local governments in Tennessee are set to receive more than $2.27 billion in federal funding to aid in responding to the pandemic, supporting economic recovery and strengthening financial stability.

Counties and large metropolitan cities received funding directly from the U.S. Treasury Department.

However, non-entitlement units of local government (NEUs) - which are mainly cities with population less than 50,000 - received funding through a transfer from the state. These funds must be spent on eligible expenditures, which include:

• Supporting public health expenditures
• Addressing negative economic impacts caused by the public health emergency
• Replacing lost public sector revenue
• Providing premium pay for essential workers
• Investing in water, sewer and broadband infrastructure

NOTE:  All local governments receiving funds under the FRF will be responsible for meeting the reporting requirements of  U.S. Treasury and will be financially liable for any expenditures that the federal agency determines to be ineligible. This is different from the way funds were managed under the Coronavirus Relief Fund. 

Tennessee's local government assistance program was created to help ALL metropolitan cities, counties and NEUs meet the federal requirements.

 

Spend Plan Review

To provide guidance to local governments, the state will review a spending plan that details the projects to be funded with the FRF allocations.

The state's eligibility review of these plans is for guidance only and to provide feedback to local officials. The state's review will not relieve local governments of liability for any expenses determined to be ineligible by U.S. Treasury.  

Local governments may submit one spend plan in the state’s online ARPA program management portal. Information required in the spend plan is based on the current interim rule from U.S. Treasury and could change when the final rule is issued. 

The spending plans will be submitted and reviewed through the state’s online ARPA program management portal beginning in January 2022. 

Template for Spend Plan Submissions

To help local governments determine the information needed for the spend plan review, the state is providing a template of the information that will be required in the review submissions.  

The required information must be submitted separately for each project included in the spend plan. Local governments may submit both planned projects and projects that are completed or under way for review.

NOTE: Review of revenue loss calculations is not included the state’s local government technical assistance program and should not be submitted with the local governments spend plan.

Please review this document entirely before beginning to complete the form. Some information is only required for projects under specific expenditure categories while other information is required for all projects. Please complete one form for each project funded using your FRF allocation. 

We'll provide further instructions for accessing the portal for the actual spend plan submission when the portal is ready for launch in January 2022. 

Click here to review the template for spend plan submissions.