How Much Did Large Louisiana Cities Get in ARP Funds?

SHREVEPORT, LA - Three years ago, President Joe Biden signed the American Rescue Plan Act (ARP) and this funneled billions of dollars to local communities to deal with financial troubles that were caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The ARP monies were direct relief that could be spent on a wide variety of needs.

Thousands of projects across the nation were done with these funds. The monies were used for several specific purposes.

Here are the top categories:

Infrastructure, housing, government operations, economic and workforce development, community aid, public health and public safety. More than 40% of the money was used for government operations.

The money started flowing to the cities in May of 2021. Many of the larger recipients did have to send reports to the Treasury Department on how the dollars were allocated in addressing the impact of the pandemic.

The National League of Cities reports several cities have yet to file full reports on how the money has been spent.

What Impact Has This Money Had?

I am reminded about a quote from State Representative Steven Jackson who was a Caddo Parish Commissioner when this money flowed in. He said:

With $80 million between city and parish governments from The American Rescue Plan, if our community is the same after the money is spent, we have no one to blame but ourselves. I am apart the "we" that I speak of.

This was perfectly spoken and I could not agree more. But we have to think hard about this now. Between Shreveport and Caddo Parish, 80 million rolled in. Did we make the best use of this money? Has our community changed. Did we miss a golden opportunity to affect long term change. I'll let you answer those questions.

Here Are the Top 10 Largest Awards:

New York $4,259,566,740
Chicago $1,886,591,388.00
Los Angeles $1,278,900,928
Philadelphia $1,087,606,822
Detroit $826,675,290
Dallas $355,426,891
Baltimore $525,891,651
Cleveland $511,721,590
San Francisco $453,586,783.00
St Louis $439,692,690