Idaho Commission on Aging seeks small ongoing increase, presses to spend remaining ARPA before federal deadline

The Idaho Commission on Aging told the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee on Feb. 24 that it has used federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) awards for one-time modernization and service enhancements and is asking for a modest ongoing general-fund increase to cover inflationary costs.

In a presentation, Colin McGurkin, a budget and policy analyst with Legislative Services, said the commission implemented programs under the federal Older Americans Act and the Idaho Senior Services Act and routed most direct services through six local Area Agencies on Aging (AAAs). He told the committee the commission’s FY 2024 expenditures totaled about $16.7 million, with roughly 88% of that — about $10.4 million in federal funds and $4.2 million in general-fund trustee and benefit payments — flowing to AAAs for direct services such as meals, transportation and caregiver assistance.

Why it matters: The commission is asking lawmakers to approve a relatively small ongoing boost to the base to preserve service levels as costs rise and to authorize one-time draws from remaining ARPA balances before those funds expire on Sept. 30, 2025.

The commission’s recent ARPA activity and budget requests

McGurkin summarized five years of the commission’s financing, noting repeated use of one-time federal ARPA appropriations from FY 2022 through FY 2024 (which he said total about $7.4 million in actual ARPA expenditures). He said the commission requested $1.8 million in FY 2025 to…