County sets reimbursement process for $5M ARPA sewer appropriation, seeks rapid state sign‑off

Weber County commissioners on March 2 adopted a county reimbursement approach with additional verification steps for $5 million in state ARPA funds intended for West Weber sewer work, and pressed staff and project partners to expedite invoice submissions so the state can draw down the funds before a May 30 timing requirement.

Economic development and finance staff explained two contract provisions for reimbursing the Promontory (Collins Valley Commerce Center) PID: traditional reimbursement after invoices and proof of payment, or a county‑discretion advancement of cash. The committee recommended using reimbursement after proof of payment and adding a DWQ verification step to ensure invoices meet state standards before the county forwards them for state reimbursement.

The county was told the state expects most of the $5,000,000 to be drawn down by May 30; county staff and PID representatives said roughly $2,000,000 in payment applications had already been generated and that the PID had been using a loan in the interim to pay contractors. PID representatives told the commission they have been paying contractors and asked for a quick county‑to‑state processing pipeline so federal/state deadlines do not jeopardize reimbursement.

"The 5,000,000 needs to be spent and reimbursed by May 30," a county staff member said in the meeting, summarizing the state's timing requirement. Commission members asked staff to require proof of payment and state confirmation before disbursing county funds to the PID, and staff agreed to add an extra DWQ validation step to the county’s internal process.

Next steps: contractors and the PID will submit invoices and proof of payment to county staff for DWQ validation; once validated and approved by the state, county finance will issue payment to the PID so the PID can reimburse contractors.