On September 29, the U.S. Department of the Treasury began releasing the first round of Local Assistance and Tribal Consistency Fund (LATCF) payments, providing $1.5 billion to 2,086 “eligible revenue sharing counties” under the American Rescue Plan Act. These are predominantly counties with federal public lands.  

Treasury has already determined the amount of funding each eligible county will receive. The distribution formula reflects the original intent of the LATCF to support counties with federal lands within their jurisdiction. A total of 2,086 local governments, which includes approximately 50 counties in Kansas, are considered eligible revenue sharing counties under the LATCF formula. Click here to see the full list of eligible recipients. 

Each eligible county must apply to claim the funding allocated to them. Treasury’s online portal provides application instructions and information on specific funding levels for each eligible county.  

The Kansas Association of Counties (KAC), the National Association of Counties (NACo) and the Kansas Office of Recovery (RO) have planned a webinar that will discuss LATCF funding available to eligible Kansas Counties and answer any questions that you may have.

The webinar will be held on Thursday, December 8, 2022, at 2 p.m. Register in advance for this meeting by following this link: Webinar Registration.

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

The deadline for counties to apply for its LATCF payments through the Treasury’s online portal is January 31, 2023.  Should a county miss the application deadline, it will not be eligible for any LATCF payments. 

For more information on eligibility of counties, eligible uses of funds and reporting requirements please visit this treasury webpage: Local Assistance and Tribal Consistency Fund.

Report Local Broadband Availability to Ensure Funding For Kansas

Through the federal Internet for All initiative, there are opportunities for all U.S. states to receive funding to improve broadband access. One program included in this initiative, the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program, provides $42 billion to states to expand high-speed internet access by funding planning, infrastructure deployment and adoption programs nationwide. 

Funds will be allocated to states according to a formula derived from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Broadband Map data. These maps provide a picture of where broadband is and is not available across the country.

This map from the FCC will determine how much BEAD funding Kansas receives. Currently the FCC shows Kansas at 5% unserved, but data shows it is likely closer to 15% unserved. That difference will have a direct negative impact on the dollars the state will receive. 

To ensure that the maps are constantly improving in accuracy, the FCC has set up a system that allows consumers to challenge inaccuracies and provide feedback. Individuals who see that the information on the maps does not match up with what they know from their lived experience will be able to submit challenges, or request corrections, directly through the map interface. The FCC will also accept bulk challenges to the reported availability data from state, Tribal, and local governments and other stakeholders who see problems that need corrected in multiple locations. 

To learn more about how the broadband map works and who is eligible to submit a challenge, please review this document: FCC Challenge Handout.

The Kansas Office of Broadband Development has provided a step-by-step infographic and the FCC created a video tutorial that detail the process of reviewing and submitting a challenge to the Broadband Map data.

All challenges should be submitted by January 13, 2023, to ensure that they are considered to inform funding allocations. 

Treasury Releases SLFRF Dashboard

The US Department of Treasury recently released a State Local Fiscal Recovery Fund (SLFRF) dashboard that details how state, local, Tribal, and territorial governments have used American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding to stabilize their budgets, respond to the pandemic, and invest in their communities.

Treasury will continue to update this dashboard as recipients submit reporting data. The dashboard is currently updated through June 30, 2022.

You can find more information about SLFRF dollars, eligible uses of funding and reporting and compliance guidelines at this link: Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds.