American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA)

In 2022, Lancaster County was awarded over $106 million as part of the Federal American Rescue Plan Act otherwise known as ARPA. All ARPA funds were required to be obligated by December 31, 2024 and must be spent by December 31, 2026. 

The Board of Commissioners approved to accept ARPA funds on April 6, 2022 and established an ARPA work group to ensure compliance with the United States Department of Treasury Final Rules for the review, allocation, disbursement and reporting of the funds received. 

The Board of Commissioners established guidelines for County Agencies, Community Organizations and Municipalities to request ARPA funding for their projects. Projects were required to be one-time projects that would be transformational and benefit the Taxpayers of Lancaster County without requiring additional ongoing funding to sustain the project. 

Prospective Projects were also required to meet an eligible objective of ARPA in the areas of: 

- Infrastructure (Water, Sewer, Broadband)
- Clean Water / Stormwater / Natural Area Conservation Initiatives
- Public Safety (Law enforcement, EMS, EMA, Fire)
- Technology Modernization
- Workforce Development
- Planning and/or Mitigation for COVID-19 Prevention, Control & Recovery
- Affordable Housing

All applications for funding were reviewed and brought before the Board of Commissioners for consideration, to ensure that the application met both Department of Treasury and County guidelines. The Board of Commissioners reviewed applications and made final determinations on allocation of funds for both County and Community Projects throughout 2022-2024 at their regularly scheduled public meetings.

In total, 164 projects were approved for ARPA funding, and the County successfully met the deadline to obligate all funds by December 31, 2024. Awarded projects will have until December 31, 2026 to complete their project and spend all allocated ARPA funding. 

All projects and their allocations were certified through Department of Treasury's reporting requirements. County Agencies and Community Organizations are required to regularly report the progress of their projects to the County so the County can continue to complete reporting to the Department of Treasury. As the County continues to provide reporting on these projects, information will be updated monthly on the charts and spreadsheets below.