FEMA and ARPA One-Pager_05.10.22_Finance Committee — File 213397

FEMA and ARPA Public Health Expenditures Finance Committee, 5/10/2022 FEMA reimbursement for COVID-related public health expenses was originally set to end in 2021 but has been gradually extended through June 30th, 2022. ARPA funding could be used for public health expenses starting March 3rd, 2021—during the FEMA reimbursement window. In order to maximize the extended FEMA funding and preserve ARPA for other purposes, public health expenses have primarily been charged to FEMA. There are some cases in which the proposed public health expense does not qualify for FEMA—hence why some ARPA funds have been put toward public health expenses to date. For example, rapid test kits were eligible under FEMA for HHS to test symptomatic community members and for City of Somerville Human Resources to use with employees as part of maintaining essential municipal services. Rapid tests for general community distribution were procured using ARPA funding, as it was deemed by FEMA that this was more routine rather than for emergency purposes. Review of FEMA vs. ARPA funding FEMA ARPA Timeline Extended through June 30th, 2022 March 3rd, 2021 to December 31st, 2024 Coverage COVID emergency-related public health expenses COVID-related public health expenses with a broader range of acceptable uses Sample Projects - Rapid tests only for COVID- symptomatic residents & employee continuity of operations -COVID testing programs - Personal protective equipment - Cleaning and disinfecting services - COVID safety updates to buildings - Rapid tests for any resident in order to detect COVID infections earlier - Cab to Health program - Emergency Management Director, contact tracers, and COVID-related outreach staff are carrying out public health tasks but are funded under ARPA category 3: public sector capacity Approximately $1M of public health expenses have been charged to ARPA to date. Approximately $3.2M of FEMA public health expenses to date could have been ARPA-eligible—and more will be incurred between now and June 30th. Review of ARPA-eligible FEMA expenses: A review of public health expenses that were charged to FEMA, but reasonably could have been charged to ARPA if FEMA had been unavailable. Category Approx. Cost Description Staffing $800,000 New staff, temporary staff, and overtime costs Contracted Services $580,000 Cost recovery consultant, building monitors, and COVID ambassadors Personal Protective Equipment $5,000 N95 masks for workforce (a significant amount of PPE was provided by the Commonwealth at no cost to the City) Cleaning and Disinfecting $10,000 Cleaning wipes, gloves, cleaning agents Testing and Tracing Programs $1,170,000 Lab slots at Broad Institute, PCR testing vendor, facility rental for test sites, rapid tests for workforce Construction and Building Safety $656,000 Ventilation analysis & improvements, social distancing materials (such as plexiglas) Total $3,221,000