Johnson County moves ARPA projects into new accounting fund, endorses two “sponge” projects and $100,000 internal allocation

Johnson County grants staff reported at a budget work session that the county has largely met Treasury’s obligation deadline for federal ARPA projects and is transitioning continuing work into Department 37, a county fund the presenters called the “standard allowance” or federally inspired restricted funds.

“All of you have worked really, really hard across the county to reach that deadline,” grants manager Allison Wells told supervisors, saying staff were reporting provisional figures as of Dec. 31, 2024 and expected only relatively small changes during quarterly reconciliation. Wells and Ryan Fosmark, grants specialist, said the county is moving projects into Department 37 as their Department 35 appropriations spend down. Staff described the transition as an accounting step intended to preserve project continuity rather than a change in project criteria.

Staff presented three projects that have not completed obligation steps and asked the board whether to hold appropriations for them or reallocate the money. The three were: the Language Access Planning project (about $85,000 not obligated), the Johnson County Historic Pork Farm site-plan and water-infrastructure improvements (delayed and being scoped to fit ARPA timelines), and a Family Resource Center project that staff said has $900,000 appropriated but not yet obligated while the county attorney reviews a revised contract.

Wells and Fosmark also reviewed two long-discussed “sponge” projects that staff recommended could absorb remaining ARPA dollars: the Johnson County Historic Farm commercial kitchen (staff cited a current appropriation of roughly $1.1 million and suggested increasing the county ARPA appropriation to closer to $1.6 million to avoid using general-fund dollars) and the county’s Workday implementation project (staff listed an estimated implementation cost near $2.4 million to $2.5 million and proposed increasing the ARPA appropriation; staff also recommended applying the $100,000 Local Assistance and Tribal Consistency Fund to the Workday project because that fund is aimed at internal operations).

On board direction, a supervisor proposed inviting representatives of the three not-yet-obligated projects to the next work session so the board could get more detail before deciding whether to leave appropriations in place or reassign them. Supervisors agreed to that next-step briefing.

When staff asked if anyone objected to authorizing reconciliations of ARPA appropriation estimates and to the staff recommendations on the two sponge projects — and to applying the $100,000 Local Assistance and Tribal Consistency Fund to Workday — multiple supervisors voiced assent. The transcript records no formal roll-call motion; staff recorded the board’s direction as consensus to proceed with reconciliations and to authorize the two sponge-project adjustments and the $100,000 allocation.

Wells said 24 projects were in closure as of the end of the calendar year; staff also noted recurring challenges in aligning appropriations with obligations and expenditures, especially for payroll-funded projects where estimates were systematically low. Staff said they will return with final quarterly reporting soon and a fuller reconciliation in early May. Supervisors asked for due diligence materials from the three projects lacking obligations before any appropriation changes.