Gov’t opens application process for towns to apply for recovery funding
Looking to continue steering Puerto Rico toward economic impact after COVID-19’s impact, the Fiscal Agency and Financial Advisory Authority (AAFAF, in Spanish) has opened the application process for municipalities to receive federal allocations from the American Rescue Plan Act.
Under the Coronavirus Local Fiscal Recovery Fund, $1.55 billion was allocated for the 78 municipalities and will be distributed in two installments by the US Department of the Treasury, AAFAF Executive Director Omar Marrero said.
Of this amount, municipalities considered “Non-Entitlement Units” will have access to some $124 million.
“Starting today, these municipalities can submit the documentation required by the federal government so that we can transfer the first payment of this assigned amount,” he said. “The second payment will be made during 2022, as instructed by the US Department of the Treasury.”
Municipalities with more than 50,000 residents are responsible for managing the funds directly with US Treasury, while the rest of the municipalities will do so through the central government, and the AAFAF will oversee this task, Marrero said.
“Starting this week, we will be convening the 51 municipalities or the Non-Entitlement Units to work hand in hand with us and to request the allocations through ARPA, which amount to $124 million. The AAFAF team will offer the necessary training for our municipal executives to obtain these funds and continue working for their communities and mitigating the negative impact caused by the pandemic,” said Marrero.
As part of the orientation that will be offered to municipal executives and their finance directors, everything related to the origin of the program, the different types of funds, eligibility, application and disbursement processes, and compliance requirements and audits.
