How America’s Smallest Municipalities Are Spending Their SLFRF Funds

Examining share of spending by non-entitlement units

For many of the smallest municipalities across the United States, being an American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding recipient is their first experience managing a federal grant of this magnitude and with this level of flexibility. To better understand how the smallest municipalities, non-entitlement units (NEUs), are prioritizing their Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF) allocations, the National League of Cities (NLC) reviewed ARPA plans from more than 30 NEUs. In total, our sample represents NEUs from across 22 states, ranging in population from 142 to 49,831 residents. We categorized plans into seven main spending buckets.