Program Plan
Department of Agriculture - Community Facilities - ARRA Recovery Plan
Updated 05/12/2009
Objectives
Program Purpose
Construct, enlarge, extend, or otherwise improve community facilities providing essential services to rural residents. USDA provides Community Facilities Direct Loans and Grants to cities, counties, political and quasi-political subdivisions of States; Indian tribes on Federal and State reservations and other federally recognized Indian tribes; and existing private corporations and not-for-profits including faith based and neighborhood organizations performing community facility functions.
Public Benefits
Improving the Rural Quality of Life: Community facilities and services, such as hospitals, public safety services and educational institutions are vital to the sustainability of rural towns and the advancement of its residents. Many rural communities lack the funding to fully support their critical community facilities needs. In some cases rural residents must travel many miles from home to seek medical care; in other cases, the lack of a local library disadvantages rural students. Some rural communities do not have enough police cars to provide full public safety services. Implementation of Recovery Act funds will improve public safety, health care, educational opportunities, transportation, public services, and cultural assets in rural communities. These improvements and additions will help rural communities remain attractive to businesses and potential employees. Educational opportunities will help create more productive employees for rural businesses. The projects will benefit rural residents, rural businesses, farmers and ranchers.
Jobs Created or Saved: All of the projects create and save jobs, while enhancing the economic vitality of the community. Jobs may include engineering and design for construction of critical facilities such as hospitals and community centers. Secondary jobs may include teachers, doctors, medical technicians, facility managers and day care providers.
Measures
The measures have been revised to enrich the performance metrics for Recovery targets. In some instances, targets will not be available until additional baseline data has been collected.
| Measure | Target/Actual |
|---|
| 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 |
|---|
[-]
Percent of rural residents with access to improved public safety services. | 2.7/0 | 2.7/0 | - | - |
Measure Information
| Frequency : Annual | | Direction : Increasing | | Type : Outcome | | Explanation : Measures increase in the number of rural residents. | | Unit : % of rural residents |
|
[-]
Percent of rural residents with access to improved health care services.
| 0/0 | 0/0 | - | - |
Measure Information
| Frequency : Long-term | | Direction : Increasing | | Type : Outcome | | Explanation : Measures the increase in access to health care services. | | Unit : % of residents |
|
[-]
Number of jobs created or saved | 0/0 | 0/0 | - | - |
Measure Information
| Frequency : Annual | | Direction : Increasing | | Type : Outcome | | Explanation : Based a multiplier model. Current or 09 CF Program does not have a jobs created measure. | | Unit : # of jobs |
|
[-]
Percent increase of rural residents with access to improved educational opportunities and services.
| 0/0 | 0/0 | - | - |
Measure Information
| Frequency : Long-term | | Direction : Increasing | | Type : Outcome | | Explanation : No Data Available | | Unit : % of residents |
|
[-]
Percent of rural residents with access to other improved essential community services.
| 8.08/0 | 8.08/0 | - | - |
Measure Information
| Frequency : Annual | | Direction : Increasing | | Type : Output | | Explanation : New measure | | Unit : % of rural residents |
|
Schedule and Milestones
Once the Community Programs (CP) staff receives the funding from the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA), we will then distribute funds to the states via the allocation formula. Funds are anticipated to be allocated to the Rural Development field office by mid April 2009. Those offices will be provided guidance on ARRA funding procedures through a Notice of Funding Availability, an Administrative Notice, and a Community Program’s teleconference in April 2009.
Funds will be used for eligible projects until all ARRA funds have been depleted. Once the Rural Development field offices have received allocations, CP will be monitoring the allocation to ensure that program goals are met. If we determine that a state is falling short of meeting the goal, CP will hold a teleconference and/or provide an assistance visit to ensure that a particular state or states will meet the program goal. CP will pool any funds remaining in a state’s allocation at the end of the September 2009. Funding will be reallocated in October 2009, this will help ensure that all ARRA funds are utilized. Major efforts will be taken to ensure funds are obligated under the ARRA.
Planning Phase:
• March 2009 – Apportionment of funding completed
• March 2009- Establishment of RD Recovery Act Web Page with Community Facilities Direct Loan and Grant Program information
• April 2009 – Administrative Notice to State and Area Offices on ARRA Implementation
• April 2009 – Community Programs Teleconference on ARRA Funding
• May 2009 – Submission of Agency and Program Specific Plans to OMB
Project Execution Stage:
• April 2009 – Allocation of Funds to State Offices
• April 2009 – Notice of Funds Availability published for all Rural Development Programs implementing ARRA.
• May – September 2009 – State allocations are monitored and teleconferences and assistance visits provided to ensure proper utilization of funds.
• September 2009 – Community Facilities ARRA funding is pooled into National office Account at the end of September.
• October 2009 – Remaining Community Facilities ARRA funding is redistributed based upon allocation formulas.
Milestones
| Milestone |
Completion Date |
| Allocation of Funds to State Offices |
04/30/2009 |
State allocations are monitored and teleconferences and assistance visits provided as needed to ensure proper utilization of funds.
|
09/30/2009 |
| Fiscal Year-end evaluation of program and any needed modifications made. |
11/30/2009 |
Projects and Activities
Eligible loan and grant project purposes include, but are not limited to, the following:
a. Public safety projects including facilities, vehicles, and equipment for fire, police, and rescue organizations;
b. Health care projects including hospitals, clinics, nursing homes, and mental health facilities;
c. Education projects including libraries, child care and pre-school facilities, charter schools, primary and secondary schools, and community colleges;
d. Public facilities including courthouses, administrative offices, jails, municipal garages, and community centers;
e. Transportation projects including streets, sidewalks, street lighting; buses, and community vans; and
f. Cultural projects and facilities.
Review Process
USDA, Rural Development, Community Programs (CP) will monitor and evaluate the expenditure of the ARRA funds and program objectives. Our existing controls are sufficient to mitigate the risk of waste, fraud, and abuse adequately. CP will conduct a periodic review of the program’s progress in order to identify areas of high risk and high and low performance. A State Office’s performance will be monitored to determine if resources; such as employees, legal assistance, and any other contract services are sufficient to ensure that program objectives are achieved.
CP will monitor the State Office’s allocation of ARRA funds. This will help ensure that all ARRA funds are utilized. If it is determined that a state or states will not meet the program goal, CP will provide additional assistance. CP will produce program reports at least monthly to monitor allocations, the number of jobs created and retained by project, and proper awards disbursement.
The Agency will complete compliance reviews in accordance with 7 CFR 1901-E to ensure activities comply with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968, Executive Order 11246, and the Equal Credit Opportunity Act of 1974. Nothing herein shall be interpreted to prohibit preference to American Indians on Indian Reservations.
Cost and Performance Plan
The website www.recovery.gov will be used as the repository for all information related to ARRA funding. Project descriptions, funding amounts, recipient information and other information of public interest will be made available. Outreach efforts, such as workshops, to inform the public of the economic opportunities available for their communities, will be hosted by Rural Development. Information on workshops as well as press events or videos produced for implementation of the Recovery Act will be posted on the Rural Development Recovery Act website. Reporting of all Recovery Act activity will comply with OMB guidance and be made publicly available on www.recovery.gov.
Performance goals for all State Directors, State Program Directors, and National Office management that have already been established will be utilized. States will need to obligate a percentage of their State allocated ARRA funds each month to ensure appropriate usage and expenditures prior to the funds expiring. On September 30, 2009, the National Office will pool any unused ARRA funds and redistribute these funds based upon our allocation formulas.
Energy Efficiency Spending Plans
Based upon the regulation and statute, Community Facilities funds cannot be used to fund Federal infrastructure projects.
Energy efficiency projects are eligible under the Community Facilities Loan and Grant program. We can fund the development and construction of solar energy systems, wind energy systems, geothermal energy systems, and biomass energy generation for eligible essential community facilities with the sole purpose of displacing the amount of energy the facility is required to purchase on an annual basis
Program Plan Award Types
No Data Available