Mobile County Submits its First American Rescue Plan Act Report on Aug. 30

Posted on: Aug 30th, 2021 | COVID-19 News and Announcements

MOBILE COUNTY, Ala. (Aug. 30, 2021) – Mobile County was allocated $80.26 million* from the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund, which was established by the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.

The public comment period established by the Mobile County Commission began July 30 and ends August 30.

Mobile County filed its initial Recovery Plan Performance Report with the U.S. Department of Treasury on Monday, August 30, 2021. The Executive Summary of that report is below.

EDITED: the original announcement of filing stated a preliminary amount: $80.14 million. Mobile County’s allocation from the U.S. Department of Treasury is $80.26 million.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This executive summary serves as Mobile County’s response to U.S. Treasury’s requirement that it submit a Recovery Plan by August 31, 2021, articulating its intended use for its Local Fiscal Recovery Fund allocation directly awarded to Mobile County under the American Rescue Plan Act. Mobile County is currently in the process of preparing a detailed plan for its Local Fiscal Recovery Fund (LFRF) allocation, however, that plan has not yet been crafted as it is currently in the public comment phase. We will evaluate all possible eligible uses of our LFRF dollars to support our community’s recovery in the midst of and following the COVID-19 pandemic. Mobile County will comply with all documentation, compliance, and reporting guidelines set forth by U.S. Treasury regarding the use of its LFRF allocation. While we are unable to submit a complete Recovery Plan at this time, we commit to updating our Recovery Plan prior to the next annual deadline. Specifically, Mobile County will submit an updated Recovery Plan by October 31, 2021.

In an effort to ensure that the County promotes equitable outcomes and serves portions of its population disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, we are working directly with key stakeholders as well as the community as a whole to gather feedback regarding priorities, needs, and overall use of Mobile County’s allocation.

As previously stated, we are in the public comment phase of developing a robust Recovery Plan for our LFRF allocation. The County’s Department of Public Affairs & Community Services, along with its IT department, prepared a public engagement webpage that included information and a SurveyMonkey™ form. The webpage and comment collector were launched on July 30 and remained open through August 30. The form received 146 responses (as of 4:15 p.m. Aug. 30). A news release was distributed to local media on July 30 with follow up reminders in August. The news story of Mobile County Commissioners seeking public comment was picked up by NBC 15 and Citronelle Call News. Graphics were created for Facebook and Twitter and released through Mobile County’s social media assets on July 30, as well as through several local organizations’ newsletters (ex. United Way, Mobile United) and social media accounts (ex. Chamber of Commerce). The Facebook post was boosted Aug. 8-13 and 20-24 and shared 110 times from Mobile County’s Facebook page. The Facebook post reached 21,171 people and received 164 engagements.

Once the comment period has closed, and all collected feedback has been evaluated and considered, we will identify priority projects to be funded with our allocation. All identified projects as of October 1, 2021 will be articulated in our updated Recovery Plan to be submitted by October 31, 2021.

Mobile County will utilize these funds for eligible uses set forth by Treasury that will promote the compliant, efficient, and equitable recovery of the County due to the negative impact of the COVID-19 public health crisis. We are grateful for this federal funding opportunity, as it will provide necessary assistance to our community which has suffered incredibly due to the pandemic.