Benton County accepts federal HSIP funds in exchange for state-aid swap to help Wright County keep its grant

Benton County commissioners on May 20 approved a fund-exchange agreement with the state that lets the county accept additional federal Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) funds for Benton’s roundabout project in exchange for transferring an equal amount of county state-aid dollars to Wright County.

County staff described the exchange as a net-zero fiscal change for Benton County: the county receives more federal funds to apply to its project and transfers a like amount of state aid to Wright County so Wright can retain federal grant dollars it otherwise might have to forfeit because of timetable issues.

Staff said accepting the federal funds requires authorization on the county’s part and that Benton is still committed to moving forward with construction tasks this summer, including building a bypass road to preserve local access while the intersection work is in progress. The county must obtain authorization from state agencies to go to bid before June 30 to protect the federal funds and must show incurred costs by federal fiscal-year deadlines; staff said the federal/state fiscal-year timing differences make those steps time-sensitive.

Board members asked about risks: staff said the primary risk is to Wright County, which retains responsibility to complete its project; Benton’s obligations remain to meet the authorization and spending timelines for the federal funds it accepts. Staff said state aid allocations and future state-aid eligibility are not negatively affected by the exchange and that the swap can be beneficial because it reduces administrative overhead for state aid and helps keep regional projects moving.

Commissioners voted to accept the exchange agreement and authorized the board chair to sign the state agreement number presented to the board.