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WARREN -- Trumbull County has just more than $10.5 million in American Rescue Plan Act money available to be allocated, Auditor Martha Yoder told commissioners Denny Malloy and Mauro Cantalamessa during their weekly workshop Tuesday.
The commissioners were told two weeks ago that there might be less than $500,000 of the county's federal ARPA funds left to allocate. Trumbull County received about $38.4 million in ARPA funds in 2021 and 2022 from the federal government to address the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
These funds are divided into two categories.
One is general fund, under which $28,454,129 of the total amount is used to support most project requests. The county also received $103,164.88 from the local assistance and tribal consistency fund, which was added to the ARPA general fund amount, increasing its total to $28,557,293.88.
Commissioners have approved 58 requests and the funds have been allocated. Two project requests were denied and two were considered redundant.
The county has allocated $23,211,242.51 from ARPA's general funds category, leaving $5,346,051.37 to be used for new projects.
ARPA also has a revenue loss category, under which $10 million could be used for projects that include the repair of buildings and improving public safety. In that category, $4,811,610.51 has been allocated, leaving $5,188,389.49 to be used for projects not yet approved. Revenue loss has greater restrictions on how the funds may be used.
Allocated funds are money that has been assigned to projects, but has not necessarily been spent.
Yoder also identified 13 projects that the commissioners have asked to be reviewed by the law firm reviewing each request, but that were placed on hold last week while the county is confirming exactly how much ARPA money remains to be spent. Attorney Jim Misocky, the county's special projects director, added another five projects to this group.
Yoder, working with Misocky and others in the commissioners and auditor's offices, over the last several weeks reviewed ARPA spending to find out what has been allocated and spent and to solidify how much money remains to be awarded.
During the county's July 25 workshop, Misocky surprised the commissioners when he reported there was less than $500,000 remaining to be awarded. Commissioners at the time said they believed there was considerably more.
REVIEW REQUESTED
Within 24 hours of that meeting, Malloy reported that after an initial review, at least $2 million had not been accounted for by Misocky during the earlier workshop.
The commissioners asked for a complete review of the money spent.
Yoder, at the time, said the confusion might have been because there are a number of funds from which the money has been taken and numerous requests from organizations to use the money.
She emphasized that at no time were the ARPA funds lost or missing. She noted that a paper trail is available for every request and allocation that was received or made by the county.
During her review of the ARPA money requested, Yoder identified four projects, including the 911 phone stations, $132,255.24; the Mobile Command Center, $1 million; MARCS radios, $588,821; and a new MARCS tower, $857,000, that were discussed by the commissioners, but funds were not finalized.
Yoder said some of the projects could be financed using the ARPA's revenue loss category, instead of its general fund category. The commissioners will refer questions to the law firm it hired to review requests to make sure they fulfill all of the ARPA requirements for a definitive answer.
Last week, Cantalamessa noted it is important to him that money be set aside for a new broadband network. Approximately $2 million has been discussed for broadband projects, but most have not been
formally requested.
Cantalamessa on Tuesday emphasized the broadband funds cannot come from the revenue loss category.
He said it has been difficult because new information has been coming in to the commissioners every day.
"This is a living, breathing thing," he said.
PAUSE RECOMMENDED
Yoder recommended the commissioners continue their pause of spending the ARPA money for projects until they come up with a way to prioritize them.
"There has to be a way to prioritize projects," she said.
Malloy agreed, but said Commissioner Niki Frenchko has been invited to attend the meetings to include her perspective and make recommendations.
"Then we can say how we want to set aside the money for particular projects," he said. "If she does not want to participate, we have to move forward with this stuff on our own. I don't want that. She needs to be at the table with us. The offer is there for her to be an equal partner in this."
Frenchko, who did not attend the commissioners workshop, later questioned why the commissioners are having Yoder and Misocky do the budgeting and accounting for the ARPA distribution, when, in her view, the commissioners office should have its own budget director and administrator to do this work.
Frenchko said she does not attend the commissioner workshops because she believes they are improperly done. She said she meets with county employees separately to go over each week's agenda items.
"There is a clear segregation of duties," Frenchko said. "There should be a moratorium on distributing the funds until we do our own accounting."
Frenchko also pointed out that everything Yoder discussed with Malloy and Cantalamessa on Tuesday is what she requested the commissioners' staff to do, but they would not do it.
She said some of the ARPA funds should have been used to establish a preventative maintenance program on county buildings that could have prevented the roofs of the planning commission and the county engineering building to become so dangerous that they must be replaced immediately.
Earlier in the meeting, Julie Green, director of the planning commission, asked the commissioners to approve using some ARPA funds to replace the roof on her office building, 185 E. Market St. She suggested the roof will not last another winter without some intervention.
The commissioners also are considering using some funds to repair and replace a Trumbull County engineer garage, 650 Warren Meadville Road, which also is on the verge of falling down.
Yoder recommended the commissioners set a closing date for applications to be turned in to the county.
Malloy and Cantalamessa agreed that the deadline should be Sept. 15.
"It will give people a full month," he said.