County has $760,000 in ARPA money to spend

The Yamhill County Board of Commissioners unanimously approved an “administrative housekeeping” measure last week to manage remaining federal Covid relief funds, but will still need to decide how to spend the leftover $760,000.

Addressing American Rescue Plan Act funding that was carried over from last fiscal year, the board held a public hearing to approve a supplemental budget adding $1,061,272 that was not included in the budget for FY 2024-25.

“We had unanticipated revenues for the new fiscal year,” County Administrator Ken Huffer said. “We’re up against timelines as far as obligation and spending the funds. So we have an unusual circumstance that ... I need to have the funds fully appropriated in the current year budget.”

The funds come from unawarded childcare projects and delays in the completion of the Rural Broadband project, according to Huffer.

The county needs to have remaining ARPA money obligated to specific projects by the end of the year and all the funding spent by Dec. 31, 2026, according to Huffer.

“It sounds like it’s a long way off, but it’s not,” he said.

The remaining $766,681 in ARPA funds can be spent on a variety of projects. The board agreed to discuss uses for the funds at its Nov. 14 meeting.