The League of California Cities has released a "City Funding Book" to guide cities on how to access and apply for federal funds available through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), signed by President Barack Obama earlier this week. Because of the substantial interest in the ARRA by California’s cities, the League has compiled the City Funding Book to assist cities in their pursuit of funding. The Book can be viewed online.

The ARRA’s purpose is to preserve and create jobs and promote economic recovery by providing needed investments in transportation, environmental protection, and other infrastructure projects that will provide long-term economic benefits.

The total cost of the package is $828 billion, and consists of nearly $396 billion for upgrades to transportation, infrastructure, construction, health care programs, education and housing assistance, and energy efficiency projects; $144 billion in state and local fiscal relief; and $288 billion in personal and business tax credits.

Also of note are the unprecedented accountability and transparency requirements that are included in the ARRA. To meet these requirements, the government has set up a Web site that will list each recipient of funds and project details. City officials will want to review the first few pages of the City Funding Book for important details on accountability and transparency requirements.

In addition, the first few pages of the City Funding Book provide important details on how to register your city to be eligible for any federal dollars.

The first version of the City Funding Book was released yesterday and is now available on the Federal Economic Stimulus section of the League’s Web site. There will also be regular updates to the Book available on the League’s Web site as more information becomes available.

First Application Deadline Next Week. Earlier this week, the State Department of Public Health announced details on how to get federal funds related to drinking water.

The Safe Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (SDWSRF) provides low interest loans/grants to assist public water systems in achieving or maintaining compliance with the federal Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA). Projects must be from a public water system, must be needed to comply with the SDWA, and must be on the program’s project priority list.

Eligible uses include water treatment facilities, replacement of aging infrastructure, planning studies, consolidation of water systems, and source water protection. Ineligible uses include dams or rehab of dams, O&M costs and projects mainly for fire protection.

Universal pre-applications for federal stimulus loans and grants through the SDWSRF are DUE FEB. 27, 2009.

Please visit the Department of Public Health’s Web site for more information on the SDWSRF loans and grants.