The Infrastructure Bill has Passed! Now What?

The Infrastructure Bill has Passed! Now What?

If you are like me, you stayed up until Midnight last Friday watching and constantly refreshing the "Actions Feed" for the House of Representatives, impatiently waiting for a hasty adjournment, or, the long-waited up or down vote on the Infrastructure Bill, formally known as the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021. I'm going to put my money on that not being the case.

With the bill passed and sitting on the President's desk for signature next week, the stage is set for states and local governments to finally get help rebuilding our neglected infrastructure. This generational investment provides an opportunity to catch up on long-deferred improvement of roads, bridges, water and sewer pipes, dams, and more.

This is not a "chicken-in-every-pothole" moment.

But, it's important to be realistic about the opportunity the Infrastructure Bill presents for local government. As I've told a few clients, this is not a "chicken-in-every-pothole" moment. Our infrastructure needs greatly outweigh the amount of funding available through this bill, and there are plenty of communities where elected leaders' and residents' expectations currently exceed reality.

The truth is, the Infrastructure Bill provides funding that will be competitive, oversubscribed, and spread thin, especially among local governments. With transportation investments limited primarily to federal aid routes, most people will not be seeing the impacts from their front door. Approaching the 50th anniversary of the Clean Water Act, available funding is a fraction of the need for many communities to reach their compliance obligations. Lastly, the Infrastructure Bill seeks to incent new types of technology and approaches that many communities may struggle to adopt, or lack the technical resources to develop.

Do not get caught flat footed waiting for funding to come your way.

This is not meant as cynicism, but as a reality check. Communities that are proactive in identifying their needs and understanding the resources coming will have a competitive advantage over the next decade. Do not get caught flat footed waiting for funding to come your way.

The majority of the calls I receive from elected leaders and public officials seeking help pertain to a single project, often at the eleventh hour. While I'm always happy to help, I get most excited when we can connect and leverage projects in a capital improvements plan, HUD consolidated plan, or recreation plan with funding strategies. The source of my excitement is simple. A proactive approach simply yields better results.

Here are some steps to best prepare now.

  1. Read it, or find someone who has. I get it. Reading a 2,740 page bill is not for everyone. But understanding the programs in the bill is the first step to competing. If you would prefer not to, feel free to shoot me a message. I'd be happy to visit and provide an overview of what's in it for your community. I'm reading it anyways!
  2. Understand what's in it for your community--NOW. The American Rescue Plan Act has given every community in the Nation the proverbial "More Money, More Problems." Making spending decisions is complicated by limited guidance and the unknown of what future funds may flow from Washington DC. Getting an understanding of the Infrastructure Bill can help answers come into better focus.
  3. Update your capital improvement plan, or create one with a funding focus. First, if you don't have plan, get one. The Infrastructure Bill will span in excess of 5 years, so it important that you are not only planning for today, but into the future. If you already have one, make sure it evaluates potential funding sources. Do a deep dive--many projects may have multiple funding sources.
  4. Fit projects to the programs, not vice versa. Grants exist to meet critical needs, address societal challenges, or incent certain behaviors and technologies. The most competitive projects reflect these characteristics. Make sure your planned projects are incorporating aspects that will be funding-ready.
  5. There's no free lunch, so get ready to leverage. Most of the programs in the Infrastructure Bill are not designed to fully fund individual projects. Many programs have matching requirements or will fund component parts of projects like green infrastructure, tree canopies, and safety measures. Leveraging other sources of funding, like ARPA funds, state grants, philanthropic resources, and local revenues will be key to success.
  6. Identify your "grant hunters." While grant writers are an important resource, you should definitely have some "grant hunters" on your team. These are individuals who are adept at identifying opportunities before the notice of funding is posted and can help prepare for a successful project design and funding application. Whether internal staff or consultants, identifying these key individuals now is critical to ultimate success.
  7. Rinse, and repeat. One of the most overlooked components of the Infrastructure Bill is its long-term impacts. With increased baseline funding across most programs, opportunities to connect infrastructure projects with funding will be lasting over the next decade.

With the American Rescue Plan Act, the Infrastructure Bill, and the potential for the Build Back Better Act to be passed through the Reconciliation process, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for local governments. Make sure you are taking advantage!

Wayne Hofmann is Client Funding Director for Wade Trim, where he leads FundingScout, a corporate initiative focused on helping staff members and clients develop successful funding strategies.

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