Remember the American Rescue Plan Act? (ARPA for short.) President Biden signed the $1.9 trillion federal economic relief package into law in March of 2021. Since then, ARPA has fallen out of the headlines but the benefits of the law to our communities and the region’s economy are about to be felt. 

Thirty-one cities and counties in the Greater MSP region are receiving a total of $1.2 billion in direct funding through the ARPA State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund* program – the largest ever direct investment of federal dollars into Minnesota to stimulate economic recovery. How cities and counties in our region choose to spend those dollars matters to our future. Maximizing the opportunity presented by this ARPA funding could make our region more inclusive, safe, vibrant and competitive for decades to come. Helpfully, ARPA’s rules encourage cities and counties to make long-term strategic investments: dollars must be allocated by 2024 and spent by 2026.

With so many local governments receiving funding, there’s no easy way to know how the dollars are being prioritized. Yet it’s important to have visibility into these decisions while there’s still time to influence how the dollars are spent.

That’s why GREATER MSP created the MSP ARPA Tracker. It’s a free, digital tool that reveals how cities and counties are allocating their funding from the American Rescue Plan Act. No other region or state in America has a resource like the Tracker, which means we have a clearer view than most U.S. regions of how local governments are making decisions about their ARPA funds.

We invite you to explore the Tracker and learn about the funding priorities being set by your county and city. It’s interactive and easy to use. That said, there’s a lot to review. Since we’ve had more time to analyze the data, we’d like to share some early findings that are relevant to our region’s economic competitiveness. 

(One more thing before you dig in: the information in the Tracker is current as of March 15, 2022. Data must be assembled manually so it’s not possible to report the data in real-time. If the Tracker proves useful, we’ll update the data again later this year. Ok, back to the findings.) 

7 Insights About ARPA in the Greater MSP Region

1. Nearly two thirds of all ARPA funds are budgeted

As of March, the 29 cities and counties in the Tracker had committed 64% of their direct ARPA funds. Of these, 15 had committed all or most of their funds. The remaining 14 had committed some funds or were still working on the decision (they have until the end of 2024 to obligate the funds). Of these commitments, a quarter ($193 million) is going toward solving the region’s affordable-housing and homelessness challenges, and 12% ($92 million) is going toward efforts to bolster the region’s businesses and train workers.  

As you can see, we’re still in the early phase of ARPA. And that’s ok. ARPA isn’t a race. Faster spending isn’t necessarily better spending.  

2. Greater MSP region investing big in housing  

Regionally, 24.8%, or $193 million, of flexible ARPA funds are committed to housing projects/programs, far exceeding national trends. This is in addition to other ARPA housing funds like HOME-ARP. This regional investment in housing with ARPA is nearly 3 times the national average, as reported on the Brookings ARPA Tracker(24.8% of MSP commitments versus 8.6% nationally).  

3. Investments in racial equity are a priority   

Many of the investments that local governments are making with ARPA are focused on advancing racial equity and better serving disadvantaged communities. A few (of many) examples from the Tracker explicitly mention racial equity as a goal (more detail and links are in the tool):  

• To reduce racial disparities in homeownership, the City of Minneapolis is investing in an equity pool to contribute to manual underwriting of first mortgage products.  
• Washington County is funding community health workers to serve as a liaison between the services and the community, helping to expand access and deliver culturally competent services.  
• Ramsey County is working with community partners to develop a county-wide racial equity plan.  
• To address health disparities and foster community trust, Carver County is working with a nonprofit to lead community engagement and assessment with marginalized populations.  

4. Innovative & comprehensive public safety strategies 

Regionally, $50.6 million has been committed to public safety. Of this, 47%, or $23.9 million, is committed to violence reduction and prevention strategies. A smaller amount is funding more traditional policing.   

5. Small business support a priority 

Six local governments have committed $32.6 million to support small businesses through 15 projects/programs. Examples include:  

• Aid to businesses via grants or loans (e.g., Edina, Carver Co., Minneapolis, Savage)  
• Technical assistance programs (e.g., Edina, Hennepin Co.)  

6. Mental health programs receive investment

Twelve local governments are investing $26.7 million in 16 mental health programs/projects. A good example can be found in Carver County. MST is an in-home, intensive, therapeutic-evidence-based service used to prevent children from being removed from their home and placed in costly programs away from their community.  

7. Local governments targeting solutions for the worker shortage

Five local governments are investing $28.7 million in workforce development through 10 projects/programs.   

Thanks to the Bush Foundation and Joyce Foundation for their financial support of this project.

MSP Federal Funding Hub