Feds Send Framingham $12.3M In Stimulus funds

FRAMINGHAM, MA — Framingham received a $12.3 million payment from the federal government on Monday, the first of two multi-million dollar injections from the most recent coronavirus stimulus bill.

In total, Framingham will get an estimated $28 million from the feds across two payments. Framingham was one of 38 communities across the state that got a payment on Monday. The money comes from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) signed by President Joe Biden on March 11.

Framingham will have until the end of 2024 to spend the entire pot of money. The city is taking suggestions on what to spend some of it via a survey (also Portuguese, Spanish versions).

Framingham Mayor Yvonne Spicer has already set aside $7 million from the first payment in the 2022 fiscal year to pay for revenue losses and other city expenses related to the pandemic. About $4.6 million will go to offset revenue losses in the water and sewer funds. The rest of the first payment will be available for "community investment," according to the city.

In addition to allowing for flexible spending up to the level of their revenue loss, the U.S. Treasury Department says cities can use funds to:

• Support public health expenditures, by funding COVID-19 mitigation efforts, medical expenses, behavioral health care, mental health and substance misuse treatment, and certain public health and safety personnel responding to the crisis
• Address negative economic impacts caused by the public health emergency, including by rehiring public sector workers, providing aid to households facing food, housing or other financial insecurity, offering small business assistance, and extending support for industries hardest hit by the crisis
• Aid the communities and populations hardest hit by the crisis, supporting an equitable recovery by addressing not only the immediate harms of the pandemic, but its exacerbation of longstanding public health, economic and educational disparities
• Provide premium pay for essential workers, offering additional support to those who have borne and will bear the greatest health risks because of their service during the pandemic
• Invest in water, sewer and broadband infrastructure, improving access to clean drinking water, supporting vital wastewater and stormwater infrastructure, and expanding access to broadband internet