Guide to Local Recovery Update: August 17
The Local Infrastructure Hub, a partnership between the National League of Cities (NLC) and other civic organizations, is launching a series of technical assistance “boot camps” for small and mid-sized cities. The comprehensive program will help cities develop competitive grant applications for the bipartisan Infrastructure and Investment Jobs Act. Registration is extremely limited. The U.S. Department of Transportation and NLC have also released new recovery resources.
Federal grant “boot camps” for small and mid-sized cities to launch later this year
The Local Infrastructure Hub is launching a series of grant “boot camps” for small and mid-sized cities. This free program will help cities develop competitive grant applications for the Infrastructure and Investment Jobs Act.
Each of the 30 boot camps is tied to a specific category of funding. The camps will last roughly four months and include live learning sessions taught by subject matter experts, coaching sessions, office hours, and opportunities for peer learning. Registration is extremely limited and ends on Aug. 31.
The federal infrastructure package offers money to all municipalities. However, smaller cities and towns do not always have the resources needed to submit strong grant applications. Each of these boot camps will help guide cities through the application process and show how they can build and execute a community engagement strategy.
The trainings will also help cities assemble a complex capital stack and budget, align their application with broader federal priorities, and write applications that are tailored to the metrics and policy priorities behind specific grant opportunities. The first five offerings — available this fall — will focus on the following grant categories:
- Flood Mitigation Assistance Grants ($3.5 billion): Supports communities with projects that reduce or eliminate the risk of repetitive flood damage to buildings insured by the National Flood Insurance Program.
- Charging and Fueling Infrastructure Grants ($2.5 billion): Supports communities to address electric vehicle charging needs for passenger vehicles and light duty trucks.
- Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities ($1 billion): Supports communities as they undertake hazard mitigation projects, reducing the risks they face from disasters and natural hazards.
- Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant Program ($550 million): Supports communities to implement strategies to reduce fossil fuel emissions, reduce the total energy use of the eligible entities, and improve energy efficiency in the transportation, building, and other appropriate sectors.
- Strengthening Mobility and Revolutionizing Transportation (SMART) Grant Program ($500 million): Supports communities on demonstration projects focused on advanced smart community technologies and systems to improve transportation efficiency and safety.
New federal Department of Transportation webinars
The U.S. Department of Transportation is holding two additional webinars on its Reconnecting Communities Pilot Discretionary Grant Program. Authorized by the federal infrastructure package, the program will help reconnect communities that were cut off from economic opportunities by previous infrastructure projects. The program supports solutions like high-quality public transportation, infrastructure removal, community revitalization, and planning studies.
The Aug. 22 webinar will cover capital construction grant application requirements, including eligibility requirements, cost-sharing, and project readiness evaluations. The Aug. 30 webinar will focus on the benefit-cost analysis requirement. A previous webinar provided information specifically for rural communities, nonprofits, and Tribal communities.
New recovery resources from NLC
NLC recently released several new recovery resources, including a fact sheet showing how cities are using American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) dollars to manage the impact of inflation on their most vulnerable residents. Although inflation is a national and global problem that must be addressed, there is no “out-of-control" spending by local governments behind it. In fact, since ARPA’s enactment, state and local government spending rose by less than 1% of GDP.
The advocacy organization is also hosting an Aug. 22 webinar on a new, collaborative effort to identify dangerous pathogens in wastewater, such as COVID-19 and the Monkeypox virus. The program is open to cities and towns that serve a sewer shed district of 50,000 persons or greater. NLC will also explore notable energy efficiency, renewable energy, and greenhouse gas reduction grant programs during a September Ready to Rebuild webinar. Previous Ready to Rebuild webinars are available to watch on demand.
NLC CEO and Executive Director Clarence E. Anthony recently talked with Mitch Landrieu, former mayor of New Orleans and Senior Advisor and Infrastructure Coordinator for the White House, as part of NLC’s new podcast series. The two spoke about Landrieu’s experience rebuilding communities and the federal infrastructure bill.
City officials looking for additional information about the American Rescue Plan Act, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, or additional recovery tools can visit the Cal Cities Guide to Local Recovery portal.