County presents ARPA spending status and flags $5.6 million potential underspend

County staff gave a status update on federal COVID-relief spending (ARPA/CARES) on Sept. 24, reporting allocations, expenditures to date, pending board items, and a small projected underspend.

The county received combined CARES and ARPA funds totaling about $654 million, and the county’s ARPA allocation is $324.6 million. Staff said $224 million has been spent or encumbered, with roughly $95 million in pending items scheduled for board consideration; together that comes to about $319 million allocated so far, leaving an estimated $5.6 million unspent.

Health-related pending items include contract adjustments (notably shelter operations) and purchases such as vaccines; social services pending items include child-care grants and workforce training; capital projects account for a sizeable share of remaining obligations and are scheduled for public procurement and board approvals through October–December. Staff cautioned that some staff-cost encumbrances tied to programs that have not yet started could attract federal review and said the county will work with Treasury if needed.

To avoid returning federal funds, staff proposed using allowable ARPA "revenue loss" calculations to cover the projected $5.6 million shortfall, and noted that remaining eligible expenses can be covered in final reporting if properly documented. Supervisors asked whether ARPA procurement timelines and requirements would block urgent one-time needs (such as refugee housing requests); staff noted strict procurement rules and recommended pursuing other funding sources or expedited procurement where legally permissible.

Next steps: large pending contracts and capital RFPs will come to the board in October–December; staff will continue quarterly federal reporting and will propose uses of the remaining ARPA balance where permissible.