Residents Guide to the American Rescue Plan
In 2021-2022, New Orleans received $388 Million in recovery funds from Congress through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARP or ARPA). What’s the money for? Where did that money go? How will it contribute to New Orleans recovery? Who will benefit? Learn more below.
What’s the money for?
The American Rescue Plan State & Local Recovery Fund was flexible, one-time money, meant to keep the City operating, and help the people who suffered most from the pandemic. The original intention of the US Treasury was to support Cities’ and States’ efforts to stop the spread of the pandemic and meet health needs, provide economic relief for frontline workers and families, address the stark inequities brought to light by the pandemic, and help Cities and States continue operating through massive revenue losses.
How much money did New Orleans get?
The City of New Orleans is a consolidated government — meaning we’re both a city and a Parish government. Because of that, we got slightly more money than other municipalities our size. The City of New Orleans received $388 Million in two payments or “tranches” of about $194 Million each. The payments arrived from the Federal government in spring 2022 and 2023.
ARP allocation compared to the City's General Fund
How did New Orleans spend American Rescue Plan funds?
Nearly all of New Orleans $388M in funding went to restoring lost tax revenue; especially for the police, fire, and emergency medical services. Compared to peer cities, New Orleans spent a much greater proportion of our allocation on lost tax revenue, and a much smaller portion on helping frontline communities. As a tourism-driven economy, New Orleans also suffered some of the greatest tax revenue losses in the state in 2020 and 2021. Learn more about how New Orleans spending stacks up on our blog.
How were decisions made?
The Mayor & Administration made the decisions without much community input, despite a commitment to equity, accountability, and transparency.
According to the City’s report to the US Treasury, the Stimulus Command Task Force they convened was more focused on helping residents access state and federal programs under the American Rescue Plan; not on gathering input from residents on our $388M local allocation.
This meant many community needs went unaddressed. For example, while the Mayor’s initial priorities included over $90 Million for Affordable Housing and Direct Assistance, the final allocation for direct services was only $16 Million — about 4.6% of the total.
Learn More
Thanks to advocacy by CBNO and our partners, the City published a dashboard tracking ARP funding on their website, here.
Want a deeper dive? We’ve been following the ARP and the City’s shifting priorities since the bill was passed in 2021. See our blog for more info.