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Court obligates remaining ARPA revenue‑replacement funds and accepts $2.8M state line item for Elkhorn sewer; KIA agreement approved
Summary
Treasurer recommended obligating remaining ARPA revenue‑replacement allowance to government services (to be moved into capital improvement contingency) before the Dec. 31 obligation deadline; the court also approved the KIA assistance agreement for a $2.8M state line item toward the Elkhorn sewer extension.
Franklin County Treasurer presented a recommendation on Oct. 16 to obligate the remainder of the county’s American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) revenue‑replacement allowance to government services before the December 31 obligation deadline. County legal counsel and the county’s outside adviser recommended using the allowable revenue‑replacement option and placing the funds into a capital improvement contingency line so the court could decide specific projects later.
Treasurer Amy explained the approach: use actual fiscal‑year‑ending 2024 general fund expenditures (salaries, benefits, utilities, excluding expenditures already covered by federal grants) as the baseline for revenue replacement; move the obligated ARPA balance into the capital improvement fund as a contingency and have the court approve project‑level actions later. The court discussed Farmdale and other ongoing ARPA obligations that will remain in the ARPA fund until drawdown begins.
Separately, Casey Cash of the Bluegrass Area Development District briefed the court on a state line item appropriation — House Bill 1 — that has allocated $2,800,000 toward the Elkhorn sanitation sewer extension project (project estimated at roughly $3.43M). Cash explained that the Kentucky Infrastructure Authority (KIA) assistance agreement funnels the appropriation through KIA, requiring the county to enter an assistance agreement and then comply with KIA procurement and reporting rules. The project profile listed a target final completion date of Dec. 1, 2026, subject to change during engineering and planning.
The court approved a resolution authorizing the assistance agreement and also voted to adopt the ARPA allocation approach. Members emphasized the need to document obligations carefully so that drawdowns and procurement follow KIA and ARPA requirements; the treasurer said the county will likely draw ARPA money beginning April 2025 if project timelines and environmental clearances proceed.
Court members asked about recourse if a line‑item recipient did not use allocated funds; Treasurer Amy said, under current Treasury guidance, unused obligated funds would be returned, though the Treasury may revise policies in the future. The court directed staff to prepare the necessary budget amendments and contracts to formalize obligations.
