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County officials warn ARPA septic program may miss federal spending deadline, ask for December cutoff
Summary
County staff told the Monroe County Council on Sept. 23 that wet weather and slow contracting have left the American Rescue Plan Act septic replacement program exposed. Commissioners and the auditor urged planning for a Dec. cutoff and backup options if funds remain unspent by the federal deadline in 2026.
Monroe County commissioners and staff told the Monroe County Council on Sept. 23 that a federally funded ARPA septic-replacement program faces a risk of leaving some money unspent before the federal deadline.
Commissioner Julie Thomas, who led the update, said the county has “roughly $600,000 out in approved contracts to replace septic systems” and warned, “I think we're gonna struggle to to get enough contracts done that we are going to have the ability to say for certain, that we're gonna be able to spend all the money by the end of next year.” She asked the council to allow staff to treat early December as a practical cutoff for getting contracts in place so the county can identify any uncontracted balance and plan uses for it.
The county auditor, Peter Kreider, told the council: “We just want to remind the public and everyone that these dollars have to be expended by December 2026.” Kreider and staff displayed an ARPA ledger showing some projects with unexpended balances and cautioned that some accounts only look unspent because contracts or invoices have not yet been billed.
Council members pressed staff on other ARPA lines during the roughly 20-minute discussion. Councilor [Iverson] pointed to a $500,000 award used for Beacon Inc.’s new center and suggested the county “celebrate some of the things that happened in this community that would not have happened had it not been for these dollars.” Councilor Deckard asked whether funding categories such as lost-revenue dollars—those that are unrestricted under federal guidance—had available capacity; Kreider replied that the county’s lost-revenue allocation is subject to a $10 million cap and that only about $152,244 of that category was currently available to obligate without exceeding the limit.
Staff said they will return with precise figures after a December-1 style cutoff to show how much of each ARPA project remains uncontracted and whether residuals are “restricted” or “unrestricted.” The auditor recommended preparing backup plans now for any funds that ultimately are left unspent.
Why this matters: The ARPA rules include strict use and timing requirements; any unspent funds after federal deadlines risk being returned or disallowed. Councilors said they want to protect both program delivery—such as replacing failing septic systems—and compliance with federal rules.
The council took no formal vote on the ARPA update; staff will return with a contract status report and options for any unspent balances in December.
