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Commissioners press for accounting after CDBG/ARPA funding swap leaves Liberty Hill project uncertain
Summary
A discussion on items 27 and 28 revealed commissioners’ frustration that a previously planned CDBG allocation for the City of Liberty Hill was unavailable, prompting the court to reassign ARPA interest funds to the Granger project while directing staff to provide a clearer accounting and ensure Liberty Hill is made whole.
Commissioners discussed a funding swap and accounting complication on March 25 after staff brought forward agenda items reallocating ARPA interest to cover projects originally planned for Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds.
Commissioner Long said the original plan had been to use CDBG dollars for a Liberty Hill project but that the city had been unable to use all of the funds. The court had previously agreed to make Liberty Hill whole, Long said, and he expressed disappointment that an accounting error or prior allocation meant the CDBG funds were “already spoken for.” He asked staff to provide a clearer accounting of where those CDBG dollars and ARPA interest funds were assigned.
County staff and commissioners discussed using ARPA interest as the revenue source in the short term, and whether the Granger project could be funded now or carried into the next fiscal year and funded with CDBG in the next allocation. The auditor raised cash-flow questions; staff noted the amount in dispute was less than some commissioners’ estimates and that the CDBG shortfall figure referenced in the discussion was around $488,000.
Commissioner Long moved approval of items 27 and 28, which reassign ARPA interest dollars to ensure the Granger project remains funded now, and the court approved the motion unanimously. Commissioners directed staff to reconcile the accounting, confirm the exact amounts involved and return with options to ensure Liberty Hill receives the funding previously promised when it is ready to use it.
No formal change to the county’s ARPA policy was adopted; the court’s March 25 vote approved the specific funding assignments on the agenda and asked staff for follow-up details.
