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James City County reports full ARPA obligation; $11.7M remains to be spent by end of 2026
Summary
Staff said the county obligated all $14.8 million in ARPA State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds by Dec. 31, 2024; $15 projects completed and 11 remain open with a Dec. 31, 2026 expenditure deadline.
County staff reported that James City County fully obligated the $14.8 million it received under the American Rescue Plan Act’s Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF) and summarized completed and open projects funded by ARPA.
Stephanie Williams, director of grants and special projects, told the board the county received $14,800,000 in SLFRF in 2021 and that all funds were obligated by Dec. 31, 2024, consistent with federal guidance; the deadline to expend obligated funds is Dec. 31, 2026. Williams said the county used the flexible "government services" revenue-loss category to maximize eligible uses.
Williams summarized 15 completed projects and 11 ongoing projects. Completed work included grants to 12 local nonprofits, conversion of restroom fixtures to touchless units in county facilities, design work for a renovated DMV satellite office, an emergency generator for the county Emergency Operations Center, and temporary limited-term positions to manage ARPA projects and to support housing and procurement work; those temporary positions have since been funded in the general fund effective Jan. 1, 2025, Williams said.
Open projects funded by ARPA include acquisition and development of parcels for affordable/workforce housing (three properties purchased and another under contract), a local housing-choice voucher program that serves 43 families to date, marina and park projects partly shifted to the capital-improvement program for timing reasons, fiber-optic cabling segments and a phased phone-system replacement. Williams said contracts for the housing-choice voucher subsidies cover either 24 months or until Dec. 31, 2026, whichever comes first, and reported a range of outcomes for voucher participants, including improvements in combined savings, debt reduction and credit scores.
Williams also described ARPA‑funded support for design of the General Services Administration building and other transportation and park-related projects; several ARPA projects were later moved into the CIP because of implementation timelines, she said.
Why this matters: Obligating federal SLFRF funds preserved the county’s flexibility to use ARPA resources for housing, capital design, emergency operations and other purposes while meeting federal timing requirements. Remaining expenditures must be completed by the federal deadline in late 2026 or risk recapture.
