WEST PALM BEACH, FLA (August 27, 2021) – At a special meeting of the City Commission on Thursday, August 27, 2021, the Commission accepted and acknowledged the allocation of $24,530,823 from the U.S. Department of Treasury under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) and approved the use of the funds for lost revenue, vaccine reimbursement and premium pay.

On May 10, 2021, the U. S. Department of the Treasury announced the launch of the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds established by the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 to provide $350 billion in emergency funding for eligible state, local, territorial, and tribal governments. The Treasury also released guidelines on how these funds can be used to respond to acute pandemic response needs, fill revenue shortfalls among these governments, and support the communities and populations hardest-hit by the COVID-19 crisis.  Based on city administration’s recommendation, the first tranche of $12,265,411 will be utilized in the following three eligible categories: (1) Replace Lost Revenue, (2) Provide Premium Pay; and (3) Public Health and Negative Economic Impacts.

In appreciation of employees who risked COVID-19 exposure to provide essential services and keep the city operational during the pandemic, the City of West Palm Beach allocated $4,495,000 of the ARPA funds toward Citywide Premium Pay, a permissible ARPA use. It is believed West Palm Beach is the first municipality in state of Florida to exercise this ARPA option.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, many of the city’s 1,700 employees did not have the option of performing their responsibilities from the safety of home and continued to provide essential services including, but not limited to, trash and garbage pickup, housing and community development, infrastructure maintenance and improvements, communications and public information, library and recreation programs, support services, information technology, public safety and more.

“To me as mayor, it was important that a significant portion of these monies be given to the employees who were instrumental in keeping the city up and running,” said Mayor James. “Basically, the city did not miss a beat during COVID-19. The essential services continued to be provided, whether it was public safety, sanitation, provision of water, streets were cleaned, and processing of permitting applications. One of the reasons why we have been experiencing the growth spurt that we have, even during COVID, is because we had staff that was ready, willing and able to process the applications. That could not have happened without the participation and willingness of our employees.”

“It takes the whole city team to make the city run every single day,” said Leon Pinder, Sanitation Superintendent in the Department of Public Works. “The Sanitation Division helps departments such as Parks and Recreation, the West Palm Beach Police Department, and whomever to get the job done. When something falls off the back of a truck, or garbage is in the street, or homeless individuals leave clothes behind, we are there to clean it up. We do whatever it takes to get the job done. At the end of the day, we are all the City of West Palm Beach team.”

The Premium Pay dollar amounts are approved based on employees' level of potential exposure and interaction with the general public in the performance of their job functions in-person at a city facility or in the field.

Eligible employees who routinely worked mainly outside of city facilities and/or had broad potential exposure and interaction with the general public as well as items touched by the public in the community or within city facilities will receive $3,800. Eligible employees who routinely worked within city facilities and/or had some degree of potential exposure and interaction with the public in the field or at city facilities as well as items touched by the public will receive $2,500.

Of the remainder of the first tranche of ARPA funds:

• Lost Revenue Reimbursement: $6,490,000 will be allocated for reimbursement of the $7M of lost revenue the city incurred during Fiscal year 2021 due to the adverse impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Oversight and Management: $500,411 will be allocated for costs associated with staffing and consulting services needed for the proper oversight, management and reporting of ARPA funds.
• Promoting public and organization-wide health: To promote a safe, healthy workplace and city, $780,000 will be allocated for a one-time vaccination incentive of $500 for each employee who meets the eligibility criteria.

State, local, territorial, and tribal governments have been on the front lines of responding to the immense public health and economic needs created by this crisis; from setting up vaccination sites to supporting small businesses; even as these governments confronted revenue shortfalls during the downturn.

Congress has allocated this funding to tens of thousands of jurisdictions, and the City of West Palm Beach as an eligible metropolitan city, has been approved for a total allocation of $24,530,823, to be distributed in two tranches, with 50% received by the City May 19, 2021, and the balance to be delivered twelve months later.

For information about the City of West Palm Beach, please visit: www.wpb.org or call (561) 822-2222 (TTY: 800-955-8771).  

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