PITTSFIELD, Mass. — It has been five years since Pittsfield received more than $40 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act funds to offset the COVID-19 pandemic. 

In 2021, with Linda Tyer as mayor, Pittsfield accepted $40,602,779 in ARPA awards to be used by the end of 2026. Now, five years later, the city is looking back on everything those once-in-a-lifetime monies supported. 

Through June 30, $40,357,427 of those funds have been expended. Eighty-five projects were allocated funds, and only the Old Town Hall HVAC installation, soon to be complete, and administrative expenses remain. 

Special Projects Manager Gina Armstrong gave her last ARPA update to the City Council last week. 

"For me, this is the labor of love," she said. 

"It's been so exciting to see where we are after planning, having community engagement, community input, having our advisory council and our ARPA team just putting it all together, and now we have all these outcomes to show for the incredible investments we've been able to make."

Expenses will be completed by the end of this month, and a final report is due to the U.S. Treasury in October. Pittsfield anticipates returning about $42,000 in unspent administrative funds because ARPA is wrapping up sooner than the deadline. 

Funds were spent in five categories: $4.7 million for public health, $25.1 million for negative economic impacts, $5.9 million for infrastructure, $3.5 million for revenue replacement, and about $1 million for administration.