January 2024

Good afternoon,

As you may have heard, today is my last day leading our Grants Management Office. I’ve accepted a position with my family’s construction company to help them oversee strategic growth and get into new markets. I am immensely proud of everything we've accomplished together, especially in the last few months. Together, we have made great strides forward in utilizing ARPA funds for the benefit of Oklahomans. Though there will be a change in leadership, our joint goal of being good stewards of these funds for the state continues.

I am happy to announce that the role of leading the GMO will be filled by Parker Wise, who has served the last six months as deputy legal counsel for the GMO. Parker has shown he is an incredible resource to our team, and I am confident he will continue the momentum we have established together.

Sincerely,

Caden Cleveland
Office of Management and Services

First off, I am thankful for this opportunity and look forward to working with you all more closely very soon! Caden's leadership as director has been inspiring for all of us who have had the privilege to work closely alongside him, and we wish him well on his new career opportunity. I am excited to step into this new role and I am eager to build on the successes we all have achieved.

Moving forward, you can expect no interruptions to the normal business operations from GMO. All meeting cadences will remain the same, and you can continue working directly with your assigned GMO grants analyst. Over the next few weeks, I will be reaching out to introduce myself to you and your team, and I am looking forward to continuing a great partnership.

Parker Wise
Director of Grants Management
Office of Management and Enterprise Services

Note these metrics reflect data as of Jan. 23. Please visit the ARPA Program Tracker for the most up-to-date information.

• $511,931,727.68, or 27.38%, of total funds disbursed.
• $23,573,622.24 disbursed in January.
• 14 projects fully funded to date.
• $102,537,622.24 projected to be disbursed over the next 90 days.

Remember to check out the GMO's current templates and guidance available on the Subrecipient guidance webpage.

Final rule announced: Independent contractors under the FLSA

On Jan. 10, the U.S. Department of Labor published a final rule, effective March 11, 2024, revising the Department’s guidance on how to analyze who is an employee or independent contractor under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The misclassification of employees as independent contractors may deny workers minimum wage, overtime pay and other protections, but can also lead to unfair competition among industry employers.

• Learn more about the final rule.
• Read the full press release.

If you would like GMO to consider drafting guidance for your agency on any ARPA-SLFRF-related questions or to submit a question to the U.S. Department of the Treasury on your behalf, please complete this online form.

Did you know that the U.S. Department of the Treasury continues to regularly release SLFRF reporting data received from its recipients?

View the Treasury's most recent quarterly analysis.

In a historic first for Oklahoma, broadband expansion grants approved

OWRB grants nearly $1M for Ochelata wastewater system revitalization

Know of any positive ARPA stories? Let us know so we can feature them on the ARPA website!

Maximizing Recovery on Your Grants by Leveraging Indirect Cost
Jan. 31 | Noon-1 p.m. CST

Department of Labor 2024 Prevailing Wage Seminars
Feb. 27 | 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. CST

If you know of any other training opportunities, please share them with us!