Federal Economic Stimulus Bill

Commonly known as the Federal Stimulus Bill, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), signed into law by the President on February 17, 2009, addresses our present economic crisis and builds a foundation for our future. It helps struggling families, creates and saves jobs and promotes economic recovery and growth.

The federal government has established a website (http://www.recovery.gov/) to provide transparency and accountability for the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. It includes the full text of the Act, timelines for federal actions and recipient reporting, news releases, links to federal agency websites for specific stimulus program information, tracking states’ progress and other useful information.

Florida expects to receive approximately $13 billion over the three years of the program. More funding is possible if Florida's state agencies, local governments, not-for-profits, businesses and schools are successful in competitive grant programs.

Recently, the City created a "Grant Team" which includes City Staff from various departments as well as members of our non-profit community that meets on a weekly basis to ensure that we aggressively pursue “good” grants for the City of Delray Beach.  The Grant Team is committed to monitoring funding opportunities from the economic stimulus legislation in order to apply for eligible projects as funds become available.

Currently, the City of Delray Beach, through discretionary/competitive and formula funded opportunities, is potentially eligible to receive almost $3.3 million in Federal Stimulus Funding to develop and fund jobs, promote needed infrastructure construction, protect our environment and assist with public transit needs.

In addition to assistance through the City of Delray Beach and other local and state agencies, assistance is available to individuals and businesses that are in need:

Individuals - The economic recovery plan provides help to those needing assistance with job loss, health care costs and other issues. Through a wide array of tax credits, the Act also provides a boost to individuals looking to buy their first home, purchase a new vehicle, lower energy bills or pursue a higher education.

Businesses - Businesses will benefit from a number of tax credits and other incentives, federal and state loans and loan guarantees to help them grow and create new jobs, and financing to promote energy independence. As critical partners in transforming Florida, businesses will compete for contracts being issued by the public sector for its stimulus and recovery projects.

We appreciate all of the efforts that our Federal and State legislative leaders have provided in ensuring that the City of Delray Beach secures this important funding to develop local jobs, enhance public safety and protect our fragile environmental resources (i.e., beach).

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STIMULUS FUNDING ALLOCATIONS FOR THE CITY OF DELRAY BEACH:  As of November 3, 2009, the City of Delray Beach is eligible for the following federal stimulus funding opportunities:

GRANT AMOUNTS ALLOCATED TO THE CITY BY FORMULA:

Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) - Bureau of Justice Assistance - Support Police Department’s Holiday Robbery Task Force, vehicle purchases and repair/reconfiguration of a driving simulator - Formula Allocation $289,582 - Approved by the City Commission (04-14-2009) & Application to be Submitted. AWARDED August 2009.

Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) - Housing & Urban Development - Support infrastructure projects within low- and/or moderate-income areas (the City will amend the existing Action Plan to specify how funds will be spent) - Formula Allocation $156,617. AWARDED August 2009.

Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) -Department of Energy - Financial assistance to support a Sustainability Officer and programs and/or projects (i.e., retrofit City facilities with programmable thermostats, motion detectors and energy efficient T-8 lighting, install solar to Fire-Rescue Headquarters in an effort to take facility off the “grid,” replace all outdoor lighting fixtures and wiring at Pompey Park athletic fields) to achieve greater energy efficiency, lower energy usage and create/develop an “environmentally friendly culture” - Formula Allocated Funding Requested $638,500 - Est. 7 Jobs - AWARDED September 2009.

Capital Assistance - Urbanized Formula Funding - Federal Transit Administration (FTA) - Palm Beach County submitted an application to receive approximately $21,000,000 in formula allocated funds to support increased public transportation infrastructure and expedite the availability of additional transportation options within Palm Beach County.  The County’s application included the City of Delray Beach’s Bus Shelters Project (20 Shelters) - Formula Funded $373,750 - Approved by the County Commission (04-21-2009) & Request to Revise Original Application to be Submitted to FTA by Palm Beach County (Fall/Winter 2009).

Palm Beach County Criminal Justice Commission - Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) - Submission of Letter of Inquiry to obtain funding to support Delray Beach Coalition of Community Renewal/Weed and Seed initiatives - Formula Allocation $100,000 - Submitted April 2009.

DISCRETIONARY/COMPETITIVE GRANT OPPORTUNITIES:

COPS Hiring Recovery Program (CHRP) - Department of Justice - Support funding for six (6) sworn police officer positions for three (3) years - Requested $1,360,164 -  AWARDED July 2009.

Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery Grant Program (TIGER) - Department of Transportation - Discretionary funding for improvements on US Federal Highway 1 and Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, which are in final design (i.e., signalization, installing wider sidewalks, lighting, adjacent park development, commemorative features and landscaping) to support the City’s LEOPARD - Livable Economic Opportunities that Provide for a Revitalized Delray - project. The goal of LEOPARD is to ensure the sustainability of the City’s economic and cultural redevelopment efforts through the current economic crisis and beyond and builds on earlier transportation improvements in the downtown area that assisted with the redevelopment of the economic urban core to a thriving, pedestrian friendly residential, retail and commercial district that supports numerous locally-owned (“Mom & Pop”) businesses alongside national chains - Discretionary/Competitive Funding Requested $8,235,000 - Est. 150 Jobs - Submitted September 2009.

Neighborhood Stabilization Program 2 (NSP2) - Assist in the redevelopment of abandoned and foreclosed homes - Discretionary/Competitive Funding Requested - $20,000,000 by the Delray Beach/Boynton Beach NSP2 Consortium - Est. 120 Jobs -Submitted by July 17, 2009. 

To view the NSP2 public comment advertisement, click on the link: http://mydelraybeach.com/MailingLists/view_newsletter_frame.asp?ID=1118

Assistance to Firefighters Fire Station Construction Grants (SCG) - Department of Homeland Security - Financial assistance to build a new  fire station on Linton Boulevard (Station #3) to enhance response capabilities & protect from fire and fire-related hazards - Discretionary/Competitive Funding Requested $3,500,000 - Est. 350 Jobs - Submitted July 2009.

Broadband Technology Opportunities Program - US Department of Commerce - The Palm Beach Broadband (PBB) Initiative (which was established in 2007 and is a consortium of six agencies: Palm Beach County government, the School District of Palm Beach County, Palm Beach Community College, Florida Atlantic University, South Florida Water Management District and the Palm Beach County Education Commission) submitted an application requesting more than $16 million to extend the County’s fiber optic network, build a local fiber loop in the Glades region connecting public community anchor agencies and expand the successful Digital Inclusion initiative in qualifying rural and urban neighborhoods.  The PBB’s application includes expanding the City’s Digital Divide Program, which narrows the gap between people who do and do not have the resources and skills to effectively access and use information technology and the Internet by providing low-income families with refurbished computers, Internet connectivity & computer training - Discretionary/Competitive Funding Requested - $1,330,000 - Est. 140 Jobs under entire application -Submitted August 2009.

The City is also proud to announce and support the following Stimulus opportunities for our local partners:

Public Housing Capital Funds - Support projects by the Delray Beach Housing Authority (Housing Authority will be submitting a Resolution approving the budget) - Formula Allocation $393,600.

This list will be updated as information on additional funding allocations and/or discretionary/competitive opportunities become available and/or awarded.

For more information, contact the City of Delray Beach at (561) 243-7190.