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FY23 Federal Funds

In response to the catastrophic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government passed three unprecedented relief packages, including the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA).

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Federal Relief Packages

Federal Relief Packages
American Rescue Plan Act (March 2021) - $1.9 Trillion Stimulus

$700+ million for Boston:

Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act (December 2020) - $900 Billion Stimulus

$150+ million for Boston:

CARES Act (March 2020) - $2.2 Trillion Stimulus

$181+ million for Boston:

  • Coronavirus Relief Fund: $121 million
  • Federal Emergency Management Agency Funds: $16 million
  • K-12 Funding - Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ESSER Fund): $32 million
  • Other smaller grants (Age Strong, FEMA, Arts): $14+ million

American Rescue Plan Act of 2021

The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) of 2021 is a $1.9 trillion stimulus bill providing hundreds of millions in federal funding to:

  • the City of Boston
  • the Boston Public Schools, and
  • other local organizations through December 2024.

Eligible uses of ARPA funding are broader than CARES-CRF funding and include:

  • revenue replacement to strengthen support for vital public services and help retain jobs
  • urgent COVID-19 response efforts to continue to decrease spread of the virus and bring the pandemic under control
  • assistance to small businesses, households, and hard-hit industries, and economic recovery
  • addressing systemic public health and economic challenges that have contributed to the unequal impact of the pandemic on certain populations, and
  • investments in water, sewer and broadband infrastructure.

The City’s ARPA allocation totals almost $560 million, of which $95 million is earmarked for revenue replacement over FY22 to FY23 that supports the City's annual operating budget.

  • Here are our guiding principles for Boston's ARPA Funds:
    • Once-in-a-generation opportunity for transformative investments
      • Jumpstart solutions to long-term challenges and make some big bets on Boston, while recognizing that we have to tackle the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic at the same time
      • Focus on cross-departmental ideas that address equity, climate justice, jobs, and health
      • Leverage additional public and private resources and prioritize financial sustainability beyond ARPA
      • Incorporate public feedback from the Budget Listening Tour in Winter 2022 and the Let’s Go Better Campaign in Fall 2021.
  • As of July 31, 2022, $551.7 million has been budgeted to continue the response to the COVID-19 pandemic and to help drive an equitable recovery for all Boston residents.
    • $234M in unprecedented funding for safe, healthy, and affordable housing
    • $95M to ensure the stability of core City services
    • $61.1M to promote economic opportunity and inclusion
    • $50M to advance climate resilience and improve mobility
    • $38M to ensure an equitable public health response to the ongoing pandemic
    • $26.3M to strengthen arts and culture and activate our neighborhoods
    • $23.6M to support behavioral and mental health
    • $17.7M to focus on early education and childcare
    • $5M for program evaluation and equitable administration

CARES and CARES-Coronavirus Relief Fund

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) is a $2.2 trillion economic stimulus bill signed into law on March 27, 2020. CARES provided additional funding to Boston using existing federal funding formula grants for City departments, including the Department of Neighborhood Development, the Age Strong Commission, and the Boston Public Schools.

The Coronavirus Relief Fund (CRF) provided funds directly to local governments. Boston was awarded $120.8 million from CARES-CRF, which were limited to: 

  • necessary expenditures incurred due to the public health emergency of COVID-19
  • related costs not accounted for in the most recent adopted budget, and
  • costs incurred between March through December 2020.

The second stimulus, the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, provided an additional $900 billion in stimulus relief and extended the availability of CARES-CRF funding by one year, through December 31, 2021. This second stimulus package provided a second round of Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER II) funding to the Boston Public Schools, as well as a brand new Emergency Rent Relief program awarded to the Mayor's Office of Housing.

Learn more about the Budget

FY23 Executive Summary
FY23 Operating Budget
FY23 Capital Budget
FY23 Featured Analyses
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