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Urbana staff report ARPA is nearly spent and outline $40,037 in reallocations
Summary
City staff told the committee that of $10,059,380 awarded via a competitive ARPA process, about $8.8 million (≈88%) has been spent and roughly $160,000 may need reallocation; council approved a staff plan to reallocate $40,037 among existing projects to avoid returning funds to the federal government.
City staff updated the Urbana committee of the whole on how the city is spending its American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) allocations and presented a short‑term reallocation plan to exhaust remaining funds.
Champaign County Regional Planning Commission planner JD McClanahan and city management analyst Tarek Azim said Urbana received $12,970,000 from ARPA and set $10,059,380 of that through a competitive application process. "Of those funds, more than $8,800,000 have already been spent, representing about 88% of those total funds," McClanahan said, and staff count about 98% of funds as either spent or credibly allocated. That leaves roughly $160,000 that staff believe may need to be shifted among approved projects to meet the U.S. Treasury obligation to obligate and spend funds within federal deadlines.
Azim told council staff are monitoring subrecipients closely and will prioritize reallocating money to projects with similar purposes so the funding remains aligned with the council's original priorities. "We need to figure out where to reallocate it so that it does get spent," he said, describing a process that will identify underperforming projects by midsummer and propose transfers to projects able to spend money before the December 31, 2026 spending deadline.
Later in the meeting staff presented a specific amendment to the ARPA concept plan that would reallocate $40,037 from two subrecipient projects to three others: $10,037 from the Housing & Homeless Innovation project to the Bridge to Home project; $15,000 from the Roof Repair and Replacement project to the New American Welcome Center; and $15,000 from Roof Repair and Replacement to the Deer Place renovation project. The committee moved to send the resolution to the full City Council on the consent agenda and voted to do so unanimously.
Council members pressed staff for details about projects flagged as at‑risk for underspending and for the timing of future reallocations. Staff said one canceled or underperforming project and small buffers in initial allocations created the available funds, and that staff will prioritize projects within the portfolio that best match the original priorities. The committee also expected an item later in the meeting addressing a $40,000 specific reallocation request.
No new ARPA projects were proposed; staff emphasized reallocations must stay within the universe of projects approved as of December 31, 2024, per federal guidance. Staff said they will amend existing subrecipient agreements where necessary and continue quarterly monitoring and reporting to the Treasury.
The committee did not take additional substantive policy action beyond approving the proposed reallocations for council consideration. The full City Council will consider the ordinance and the associated contract amendments as placed on the consent agenda.
