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Norfolk County to accept returned ARPA funds and plan redistribution
Summary
County staff told commissioners that towns have returned surplus ARPA funds; the commission voted to accept the returns (amounts described in the meeting ranged from roughly $17,996 to a staff estimate of $79,000–$89,000) and directed staff to propose a redistribution plan at a future meeting.
Norfolk County commissioners voted June 11 to accept returned American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) grant funds from local governments and county offices and asked staff to propose how to redistribute the money.
Director John Cronin told the commission the county had received notices of surplus funds from the town of Canton and from the county treasurer’s office. Cronin asked the commissioners to accept the returned funds so staff could redistribute them into excess-capacity ARPA grants; he said staff would return next week with a formal recommendation on how to reallocate the funds.
Cronin identified two specific returns: $17,996 returned by Canton from an ARPA grant and a returned balance from a treasurer-managed grant for a county fiscal literacy program, where the treasurer proposed retaining $5,000 for printing and materials and returning the remainder. Cronin said the total pool of funds expected for redistribution was “somewhere in the vicinity of $79,000,” and later in discussion one commissioner referenced $89,000; staff again said they would present a firm accounting and a proposed redistribution plan at the next meeting.
Cronin explained the county’s prior practice of creating “excess capacity” ARPA grants to receive unused funds from closed applications; he said that process allows the county to re-obligate returned grant money into eligible projects rather than sending it back to the federal government. Cronin said that when the county closed the ARPA obligation period last December, many communities accepted the county’s offer to create excess-capacity grants so surplus funds would have an eligible destination.
Commissioner Richard moved to accept the transfers as described by the director; the motion was seconded and carried by unanimous vote. The commission did not select redistribution targets at the meeting but directed staff to present a proposed destination plan at an upcoming session.
