LaSalle County finance committee reviews unused ARPA allocations, warns of federal deadline

LaSalle County finance staff told the county's Finance and TIF Committee on July 28 that a mix of external and internal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) allocations remain open and that the county must either reallocate unspent federal ARPA funds into an existing open ARPA ordinance or return them to the federal government after the ARPA spending deadline. Sharon, the county staff member presenting the ARPA report, told the committee that the county currently has 145 ordinances in total (34 internal, 111 external) and 28 open ordinances. She said the only internal ARPA ordinance that remains open is the sheriff's resource officers allocation and recommended that any externally held ARPA funds that remain unspent at the deadline be moved into that internal ARPA ordinance rather than returned to the federal government. The committee was told that the federal deadline for spending ARPA funds is Dec. 31, 2026. Sharon said the county can reallocate ARPA funds by amending an existing open ARPA ordinance, but repeatedly cautioned that transfers from one external ARPA ordinance directly to a different external ARPA ordinance likely cannot be done without the recipient's agreement and may depend on the original ordinance wording and any agreements the county has with recipients. She said Bellwether (identified in the meeting as a contact who provided legal guidance and a resolution) advised that reallocating regular ARPA is "a little trickier" and that funds should be reallocated to other existing ARPA allocations that can justify additional need. Committee members pressed on practical implications. Sharon said the county currently holds money for several external recipients and that some recipients have not responded to repeated contact attempts. She gave the example of "Ottawa River Rescue" (listed on the report at $267.24) and said staff had attempted contact multiple times without success. She said some external recipients, such as Wallace Fire Department and the Village of Loston, have indicated they will spend their ARPA allocations by 2026, while others have either sent few bills or none at all. Sharon said the county already holds the federal funds in its bank accounts: "This is sitting in our coffers right now for us to pay out," she said, adding that if recipients will not release the money or do not spend by the deadline, the county will either accept a return of funds from the recipient or sweep the unspent ARPA amount into the sheriff's open ARPA ordinance after the deadline. Committee members discussed whether the county can reassign funds earlier if recipients refuse to cooperate. Sharon said the county cannot unilaterally take funds before the ARPA spending window closes unless the external recipient agrees. She recommended setting an internal earlier deadline in 2026 to prompt recipients to act and said staff would continue outreach. Committee members agreed staff should follow up with Bellwether to confirm whether any external-to-external ARPA reallocations are permitted under existing ordinance language. The discussion also included program-level examples: an ARPA-funded swim program at the Ottawa YMCA (if discontinued would require reallocation), a $52,000 library bill for Marcelo's Library of which the county said it could pay $40,000 under the existing application, and multiple small business and nonprofit allocations (Liberty Restaurant, Prairie Fox Books, Scouts, Trinity Lutheran food program) being tracked for incoming bills. No formal policy change or vote was taken at the committee meeting; staff were directed to continue outreach to external recipients, confirm legal options with Bellwether, and track remaining open ordinances ahead of the Dec. 31, 2026 ARPA deadline. If the county ultimately reassigns externally held ARPA money after the spending deadline, Sharon said the practical path would be to amend the one remaining internal ARPA ordinance (sheriff's resource officers) and increase its authorized amount by the total swept from external allocations, subject to the ordinance's eligible uses. The committee also asked staff to set an internal follow-up timeline for 2026 and to report back on outreach attempts and any written agreements with external recipients.