FEMA announces the release of three "Local Government Solutions Guides for COVID-19 and Beyond" (Local Solutions Guides). The intention of these guides is to provide background on the various solutions communities are pursuing to provide local government services in the face of COVID-19 related budget shortfalls and public health considerations. The guides cover the topics of adaptive design, grants management capacity, and alternative public service solutions. They offer general guidance and link to resources to provide readers an opportunity to dive further into solutions that best suit their community. The Local Solutions Guides were developed in partnership with the Economic Development Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Department of Agriculture as well as non-government partners such as the Government Finance Officers Association, National Association of Counties, National Emergency Management Association, International City/County Management Association, and the American Planning Association.
The Adaptive Design Local Solutions Guide covers four sub-topics that describe short- and long-term approaches to community revitalization and development: public space, building, zoning, and community engagement. The first three sub-topic sections consider the impacts of COVID-19 on how people use community spaces and how local governments can support healthier spaces for community recovery. The discussion on public space emphasizes consideration for locations to prioritize, ways different types of public space can be converted, and implementation considerations. The building section considers ways buildings can be adapted for community health and ways that unoccupied buildings can be repurposed to provide social services or housing. The third section, zoning adaptations, examines ways that state, local, tribal, and territorial governments can align some of the strategies discussed in the public space and building sections with local ordinances, either through relaxation or amendment. Finally, a fourth section, community engagement, emphasizes the need for community input throughout the decision-making process, with considerations for both virtual and non-virtual participation.
The Grants Management Capacity Local Solutions Guide seeks to simplify the process of building local government capacity for grants management through this comprehensive explanation of a grant’s entire lifecycle. To do so, it covers seven steps of grants management from pre-award to post-award (i.e., Project Development, Funding Identification, Proposal Preparation, Proposal Submission, Award Acceptance, Award Management, and Award Closeout). Additionally, this guide has incorporated tips that can help smaller communities secure funding through use of federal/partner technical assistance and cost saving measures. It also highlights major impacts to grants management brought about by COVID-19 at the close of 2020. While this guide is focused on federal grant programs, many of the tools and practices discussed within it are general enough to also assist with non-federal grant program applications.
The Alternative Public Service Local Solutions Guide proposes methods local governments can use to provide ongoing services or partner with others to meet residents’ needs despite budget constraints. As local governments face continued fiscal stress, alternative models for delivering public services can provide economic relief while promoting innovation and growing stronger networks among municipalities. Alternative Public Service Solutions are different models for rethinking public service funding and delivery, which can address varied needs from recovery and planning to stewardship of parks and waters to delivery of public safety services. The guide is divided into five subsections describing different types of solutions: Crisis Budgeting, Public-Private Partnerships, Local Government Organizations, Shared-Services, and Technical Assistance (Universities and Foundations). While there is variation in the steps for each of the solutions, all these innovations require community engagement, communication, and partnerships.