Who is a member?
Our members are the local governments of Massachusetts and their elected and appointed leadership.
State officials today announced an extension of the spending deadline for the Coronavirus Relief Fund Municipal Program.
Rather than the previously announced deadline of June 30, 2021, cities and towns can now submit applications for reimbursement for eligible expenses through Oct. 29, 2021.
The Executive Office for Administration and Finance’s Federal Funds Office explained the change in a memo to municipal CEOs. The memo outlines a pre-approval process that may be used in certain limited circumstances for those who anticipate needing access to their funds between Oct. 29 and Dec. 31, 2021.
The state is required to return any unused Coronavirus Relief Fund dollars to the federal government by Dec. 31, 2021. The deadline extension gives municipalities more time to apply for remaining eligible expenses, while leaving the state sufficient time to reallocate any remaining funds in order to keep the money in the Commonwealth.
The memo notes the potential compliance risks involved with the deadline extension, which will create an overlap between federal funding from the 2020 CARES Act and new funding from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. Municipal CEOs are reminded to be cognizant of these potential risks and to refer to the published guidance.
The Commonwealth created the Coronavirus Relief Fund – Municipal Program (CvRF-MP) to make up to $502 million in federal resources available to municipalities to respond to the public health emergency caused by COVID-19.