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The State of Ohio received over $5 billion in American Rescue Plan funding. To date, the state has created grant programs that pass over $1 billion of that funding directly to local governments, supporting state and local partnerships in public safety, economic development, and infrastructure. 

For example, the Ohio Department of Development brownfield remediation and demolition programs will award $350 million to cities and other local government entities to spur development of former industrial sites across the state.

The State of Ohio has also dedicated $250 million of its ARP funds to law enforcement and local governments to implement violence reduction and other public safety programs. 

Additionally, Ohio has announced that it will triple the minimum federal funding available to local governments for local bridge repair projects through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA, the bipartisan infrastructure law enacted in 2021). This infusion of federal funds will help cities begin to make needed repairs to the thousands of Ohio bridges that are structurally deficient.

After the passage of the American Rescue Plan in spring 2021, the Ohio Mayors Alliance advocated early and often for the State of Ohio to pass through some of its ARP funds directly to local governments, and although the State did not directly grant additional money to cities, we believe that these grant programs are a direct result of our and others’ advocacy to ensure federal funds fill as many local needs as possible.

A spreadsheet of Ohio grant programs that allocate federal dollars to cities is available here, and will be updated periodically.