COVID-19

ARPA Housing Task Force Listening Session – Friday, August 6th

CCI congratulates Summit County Commissioner Tamara Pogue for her recent appointment to the American Rescue Plan Affordable Housing Transformational Task Force. This task force is charged with developing recommendations on how best to use the $550 million allocated through HB21-1329. As the group kicks off its work in the next few weeks, Commissioner Pogue would like to hear from you on local housing priorities and challenges to help inform task force recommendations.

Please join us for a listening session this Friday, August 6th from 3-4PM to provide feedback on how best to use this significant injection of housing funds. Zoom details below.

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https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85604046624

Meeting ID: 856 0404 6624

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Meeting ID: 856 0404 6624

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ARP Affordable Housing Task Force

ARP AFFORDABLE HOUSING
TASK FORCE

CCI congratulates Summit County Commissioner Tamara Pogue for her appointment to the American Rescue Plan Affordable Housing Transformational Task Force. This task force is charged with developing recommendations on how best to use the $550 million allocated through HB21-1329.
White Paper on Local Government Priorities
for ARPA Funding

Locally elected leaders are acutely aware that housing challenges remain a top issue affecting every community across Colorado. The COVID-19 pandemic only exacerbated what was a growing problem due to a combination of factors--including sky-rocketing population, labor and commodity scarcity, a booming short-term rental and second-homeowner market, and years of under-building--for which there is no easy or single solution.

Colorado's strategies addressing our housing crisis must be thoughtful and locally tailored to ensure ARPA funds address immediate impacts of the pandemic, but do wo with a view to how these investments can lay a foundation for broader systemic impact on this challenging issue.

CCI’s ARPA Housing Task Force Listening Session – Recording, Takeaways, Next Steps:

Last Friday, August 6th, CCI hosted a listening session with Summit County Commissioner Pogue to discuss local housing priorities and challenges. This session was organized to help inform Commissioner Pogue’s participation in the ARPA Housing Task Force responsible for making recommendations on how best to use the $550 million allocated through HB21-1329.

If you weren’t able to make the session, you can find the recording here. Additionally, if you weren’t able to participate and have ideas (not listed below) on how to spend these dollars, please reach out to Daphne Gervais.

Here are some of the priorities and challenges we heard from various counties:

  • Workforce housing development
  • Flexible funding with an emphasis on AMI restrictions
  • Infrastructure – water, sewer, road development/horizontal development costs
  • Behavioral health resources, including homelessness prevention resources, support for human services, child welfare, and workforce development
  • Support for regional project coordination, public/private partnerships, non-profit developer support
  • Capacity building, operations support, administrative support
  • Land acquisition/banking
  • Expanding modular development
  • Rental assistance

The Task Force kicks off its work next Thursday, August 19th. CCI will continue to host listening sessions as recommendations are being developed by the Task Force. Stay tuned for our next meeting date!

ARP Behavioral Health Task Force

ARP BEHAVIORAL HEALTH
TASK FORCE

CCI congratulates Douglas County Commissioner Lora Thomas and Logan County Commissioner Byron Pelton for their recent appointments to the American Rescue Plan Behavioral Health Task Force. This task force is charged with developing recommendations on how best to use the $550 million allocated through SB21-137.
CCI Letter to Task Force on County Priorities

Colorado has the opportunity to invest $450 million in transformational behavioral health strategies. Via survey counties identified their top 5 investment priorities from a list of 27 options

CCI & CHSDA Letter on High Acuity Crisis in Serving Children

CHSDA & CCI’s letter on the High Acuity Crisis in serving children to Directors Barnes & Bimstefer. 

Feedback from CCI's 8/27 Behavioral Health ARPA Task Force Listening Session:

Last Friday, August 27, CCI hosted a listening session to gather county feedback for the Behavioral Health ARPA Task Force conversations that are underway.

Attached HERE is a high-level summary of the investment ideas/strategies that were offered for the $450 million.

Updates from Mental Health Colorado:

Our state has a historic opportunity to make strategic transformational investments to improve access to care, improve transparency and accountability, and end discrimination.

The state has set aside 450 million dollars for one-time investments in behavioral health from the American Rescue Plan Act for use by December 31, 2026.

The Behavioral Health Transformational Task Force and corresponding subpanels ­are convening the next couple of months to discuss what investments and policy changes need to be made to transform the behavioral health system in Colorado – this includes both mental health and substance use.

To fill out a survey with your suggestions for the state, listen in on meetings, or sign up to receive updates, please go to:

https://www.mentalhealthcolorado.org/taskforce/

We want to make sure all voices are heard and that we are aligned in our efforts to achieve healthier minds across the lifespan for all Coloradans.

–Vincent Atchity, President & CEO of Mental Health Colorado

Additional Treasury Updates for ARP Fiscal Recovery Fund

Below is an update from Matt Chase at NACo with the latest from treasury. Reach out to me with questions.

John

Passing along an overview of Treasury’s updated FAQ document released this morning for the ARP Fiscal Recovery Fund.

Please see below for an overview of key items, which include clarification on both general eligible uses of Recovery Funds and new eligible uses to increase public safety as outlined in the Biden-Harris Administration’s strategy to prevent and respond to gun crime and ensure public safety:
Clarification on general eligible expenses

  • Address COVID-related backlog in court cases: Recovery Funds can be used to reduce backlogs, such as implementing COVID-19 safety measures to facilitate court operations, hiring additional court staff or attorneys to increase the speed of case resolution and other expenses to expedite case resolution are eligible uses. NACo explicitly asked Treasury this question and requested that these expenses be eligible uses of Recovery Funds.
  • Clarification on “general revenue” definition:Additional clarification on “general revenue” definition and revenue streams that can be included in the revenue loss calculation (pg. 35 of FAQ).
  • Revenue loss and intergovernmental transfers:When calculating general revenue, counties should exclude all intergovernmental transfers from the federal government. This includes federal transfers made via a state to a locality from the CARES Act Coronavirus Relief Fund. Additionally, If there are other federal funds that were passed through the state or other entities or intermingled with other funds, counties should exclude the federal portion when calculating revenue loss.
  • Outdoor spaces: Additional clarification on using Recovery Funds to reinvest in outdoor spaces. Recovery Funds can be used in the following ways:
    • Qualified Census Tracts (QCTs): Recovery Funds can be used to support populations disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic When providing services and programs to build stronger neighborhoods and communities, recipients can use funds towards the following: investment in parks, public plazas and other public outdoor recreation spaces that may respond to the needs of disproportionately impacted communities.
    • Small businesses: Recipients may provide assistance to small businesses in all communities. This includes enhancing outdoor spaces for COVID-19 mitigation (i.e. restaurant patios) or improve the build environment of the neighborhood (I.e. façade improvements)
    • General maintenance of parks: Recognizing that parks were used during the pandemic, Recovery Funds can be used for maintenance needs associated with overuse of parks.

Eligible expenses related to public safety:

  • Additional staff and overtime pay: Recovery Funds can be used to hire law enforcement officers (even above pre-pandemic levels) or paying overtime, where the funds are directly focused on advancing community policing strategies in those communities experiencing an increase in gun violence associated with the pandemic. Counties can also use funds to rehire other public servants to restore law enforcement and courts to their pre-pandemic levels.
  • Community Violence Intervention (CVI) programs:These programs use evidence-based strategies including focused deterrence, street outreach, and hospital-based violence intervention models, complete with wraparound services such as behavioral therapy, trauma recovery, job training, education, housing and relocation services, and financial assistance.
  • Subsidized jobs, job training, and wraparound services: This includes Summer Youth Employment Programs and programs to support employment of formerly-incarcerated individuals.
  • Mental health services and substance use disorder services: Recovery Funds can be used for community-based mental health and substance use disorder programs that deliver evidence-based psychotherapy, crisis support services, medications for opioid use disorder, and/or recovery support – School-based social-emotional support and other mental health services
  • School-based social-emotional support and other mental health services.
  • Referrals to trauma recovery services for crime victims.
  • Recipients may also use funds up to the level of revenue loss for government services, including those outlined above.

Special thanks to Eryn Hurley of the NACo team for her extraordinary efforts with Treasury.

County Public Health Orders

Colorado Restaurant Association Winter Outdoor Dining Grant Program

The State of Colorado, in partnership with the Colorado Restaurant Association (CRA), Colorado Restaurant Foundation (CRF), American Council of Engineering Companies of Colorado (ACEC), the American Institute of Architects Colorado (AIA) and the Associated General Contractors of Colorado (AGC) teamed up with other design and construction professionals in an effort to encourage and support restaurants in the creation of outdoor dining spaces this winter.

The second round of applications is open now, with a goal of distributing grant funds by December 21st.

If any county wishes to participate, CRA can set up a restricted fund through which the county supplies the funds, and CRA sets aside grants for restaurants in that county. CRA is working with DOLA to clarify this as an eligible CVRF expense.

For more information on CRA’s Winter Outdoor Dining Program, click here. To reach Sonia Riggs, President & CEO of the Colorado Restaurant Association, please e-mail sriggs@corestaurant.org.

2024 Summer Conference

CCI Foundation Winter Conference 2024

May 28-30, 2024
Eagle County, CO
Click here for more info

For questions or more information, contact Annie Olson at aolson@ccionline.org.

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