San Benito County Supervisors voted Feb. 22 to allocate funds from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) to various projects. The county has received almost $6.1 million of the expected $12.2 million in ARPA funding, enacted in March 2021 by President Joe Biden.
According to the staff report, ARPA funding can be used for COVID-19 response efforts including counteracting negative economic impacts, providing premium pay for essential workers, replacing lost public sector revenue, and infrastructure investments.
San Benito received the first installment of funding in May 2021 and expects to receive the remaining funds by the same time this year, according to county budget officer Gabriel Orozco. The money must be obligated by Dec. 31, 2024 and spent by Dec. 31, 2026.
Orozco said the county has spent or committed $2.1 million of the funds, with the largest expenditures being $750,000 toward vaccine incentives, $625,650 toward essential worker bonuses, and $455,000 for nonprofit relief.
“The current balance out of our first allocation is just under $4 million,” Orozco said. “When we take into account the second allocation, what that leaves us is with about $10 million open for expenditure.”
One area of expansion to the ARPA uses Orozco noted was the ability to pay for staffing that had been reduced because of the pandemic. He said using federal formulas of 7.5% growth per year means 10 full-time positions could be added to the county with ARPA money.
Another focus for ARPA funding was infrastructure, such as cybersecurity, water and sewer projects, culvert repairs, and dam and reservoir rehabilitation.
Orozco said the purpose of supervisors’ action at its Feb. 22 meeting was to obligate funding to be able to move forward with projects while the county also worked to secure additional funding from other sources. When possible, leftover ARPA funds could be allocated to other projects.
Supervisors discussed a total of 13 projects valued at $4.8 million and agreed to move forward with the following:
- $1 million for historical park potable water
- $12,000 for Veterans Park bathrooms
- $350,000 for a public information officer for two years
- $600,000 for public records staffing and software
- $150,000 for document scanning
- $329,000 for a homeless abatement manager
- $50,000 for handheld radios
- $350,000 for COVID-19 testing for staff
- $50,000 for public meeting security
Tabled items to reconsider in April were $1.6 million for Riverview Park bathrooms; $100,000 for temporary staffing; and $1 million for IT software and hardware.
Decisions on those requests were delayed because of their price tags and the possibility of obtaining other funding sources before April, thus reducing or eliminating the need for ARPA funding.
The supervisors also had a list of additional future projects to consider, including funds for the San Justo Reservoir zebra mussel eradication project. They took public comment on other possible projects in which resident Valerie Egland proposed installing cameras near parking areas of the De Anza Trail and Old Stage Road.
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