Tom's first guest today is Shamiah T. Kerney, the Chief Recovery Officer in the Mayor’s Office of Recovery Programs, an office set up by Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott to oversee the distribution of the $641 million dollars of funds allocated for the city from the 2021 American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA).
President Biden signed the ARPA measure into law in March of 2021, with the aim of helping communities across the nation speed their recovery from the dislocations caused by the COVID pandemic. The city's Office of Recovery Programs was established in July of that year.
The first announcements about which agencies and organizations would be receiving the funds were made last fall. The city has until the end of 2024 to finish designating who gets the ARPA money, and until the end of 2026 to spend it.
Mayor Scott has allocated funds to 28 different project categories, such as digital and phyiscal infrastructure, housing, violence intervention, COVID-19 response, homeless services and projects that are listed as "pending."
Shemiah Kerney, who was Tom's guest back in April of this year, returns to Midday's Studio A to discuss the Office of Recovery Programs' continuing work, and to give us an update on how the ARPA funds are being allocated.
