$104,339,752.
That’s the amount of the last traunch of money Guilford County had to obligate by the federal deadline – December 31, 2024 – or commit the mortal sin of giving the unspent money back to the federal government.
Local governments across North Carolina and across the country are now eyeing that deadline of midnight on New Year’s Eve 2024. That’s the time by which counties and cities either have to obligate all of the American Rescue Plan Act and Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (a program authorized by the same American Rescue Plan Act) – or give it back.
The money isn’t really “free” money since it was paid by taxpayers across the country, including those in Guilford County. However, as one can imagine, no local government wants to return a dime to the federal government since that money can be spent locally.
And there are plenty of needs that Guilford County, and the cities and towns within it, want to fund. That goes for other local governments across the state and the country as well.
When the first batch of federal relief money began pouring into Guilford County several years ago, one Guilford County commissioner at that time privately referred to the scenario as one that reminded him of the movie Brewster’s Millions. In that movie, the character played by Richard Pryor had to spend $30 million in 30 days (under a certain set of conditions) in order to inherit $300 million. So the character just began spewing money everywhere.
This week, the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners sent out a notice to county leaders in the state reminding them to spend the money so they don’t have to give it back – and the association is offering help to counties that may have trouble spending the funds before the upcoming deadline.
The notice reminded county leaders that funds that “are not obligated by December 31, 2024, must be returned to [the] US Treasury.”
Guilford County government has handed out millions to the county’s cities and towns for things like water projects and infrastructure needs.
Money is fungible and some of the relief funds were reassigned to Guilford County projects where it could legitimately be spent now, and then the county could use the freed-up money from that reassignment of funds to spend later, at the county’s leisure, after the federal deadline has long come and gone.
The Guilford County Board of Commissioners had determined how it planned to spend the last $104 million in federal American Rescue Plan funds for projects within the county. But many of the projects Guilford County wanted to use ARPA funds for couldn’t meet the deadlines – so Guilford County got creative.
Among eligible spending categories allowable for the ARPA money by law is one called “Revenue Replacement” – under which “the Treasury Department developed an annual revenue loss formula to determine the amount of revenue governments have lost due to the impacts of COVID-19.”
Earlier this year, Guilford County staff calculated that the county had just over $90 million in “lost revenue” that was eligible for the ARPA revenue replacement category.
According to the rules stated by the US Treasury, revenue replacement funds could be spent on the provision of government services, “which can include general fund expenditures, operating expenditures, and administrative costs, among a broad range of spending authorities.”
So, early in 2024, the county commissioners put the money toward qualifying Guilford County operating expenditures – which then freed up funds to support projects that were originally planned to be ARPA-funded projects. Since the move instantly changed federal funds into county funds, the federal deadline evaporated.
Here are some of the former “ARPA projects” that the Rhino Times has reported on that were subject to deadlines, but now have become “ARPA-enabled” projects that face no deadlines:
- Windsor Chavis Nocho Community Complex – $15 million
- Pleasant Garden Water/Sewer Infrastructure – $5.5 million
- Recovery Housing – $3 million
- Transitional Therapeutic Foster Care – $1.5 million
- Broadband Initiatives – $391,880
- Infant Mortality Programs – $85,000
- EMT Academy – $393,052
- Food Security Efforts – $774,926
The Parasitic Sector is obscenely awash with money – our money.
——–
The people who shake us down like the Mafia literally have more money than they know what to do with, while we struggle.
This is socialism.
Collecting taxes and using for social programs in addition to defense doesn’t make it socialism.
Wanna engage in an esoteric and recondite debate about the nature and essence of socialism?
Sure.
You don’t have it between the ears, mate.
What does any of that spend have to do with COVID? Makes me miss being a conservative before the party was taken over by anti-science authoritarians who believe misinformation is ok if it supports their cause.
That’s not the first time I’ve heard a liberal say….I would be a conservative if only not for ________. Fill in the blank. There’s the difference between most conservatives who couldn’t fathom being a liberal under any circumstances lol.
I was a long time conservative until the Tea Party then the MAGA hats ruined the ideas of fiscal conservatives. Once I woke up, I saw that that actually died under Reagan with the failed trickledown economics. So I became independent. Turns out that the conservative message was a lie along.
I don’t consider myself a democrat. I am independent and look to real people who understand the complexity of society, economics, and foreign policy like many old school conservatives such as Liz Chaney, Mitch McConnel etc… People today considered to be RINOs. Truth is that my personal beliefs have not changed. The party has.
But you be you.
How about giving it back to the taxpayers, you know the ones who pay for everything but get nothing in return. Once again this clearly shows the ridiculous waste of taxpayers money.
I wonder whether the “lost revenue” was offset by the very large tax increases? It is a rhetorical question, since in government accounting, everything spent is paid for by “other peoples’ money” and the ability to secure it (at least under bankruptcy law) is considered to be without limit, so “lost revenue” is probably a euphemism for “politicians’ unfulfilled expectations”. But, since we, as taxpayers, are the other people, we should remember, every election, whether our representatives are doing what we want with our money. If it were their money, their opinion about how it should be spent might have some value. But it is not their money, and our opinion, whose money it actually is, has much more value…
I urge the federal government to audit the actual expenditures under this project. From just a quick review of Guilford county and the triad cities these funds have been grossly misdirected and used to buttress spending on worthless projects such as replacing carpeting in libraries!
Remember that under Trump, the oversight of COVID relief funds was removed from the bill so his kids could abuse the system. Old school (real) conservatives would never have allowed that to happen. I miss the old republican party that focused on fiscal responsibility versus infighting and fear mongering.
Did that orange son of a gun really do that or was that actually something that went across someone else’s desk if it happened at all. I’ll try to find something out, too bad I can’t just ask the fact checkers at MSNBC.
This money should all be returned to taxpayers in the form of tax cuts. It’s time to be done with the COVID misinformation from the government.
This is a small window into the thinking that brought us the $34 trillion debt.
Thrilled to spend it, just don’t ask where it finally ends up……………………
Accountability=Kryptonite
Since we (you know, citizens who pay taxes and live here and elect you) are the ones who were subjected to all the ridiculous rules….closed businesses, mask mandates, covid testing in school just to play sports so that “we” (the county) could get this money, perhaps the people could actually get the money. (And please, no more bike lanes where anyone who is out riding a bike would be crazy to bike.)
I have never actually seen a bicycle being ridden in a Bike Lane.
Ever.
Austin, I see them all the time in front of my house because it has a bike lane…
What street do you live on, Frank?
I’ve got to see this.
Name something our govt does well, especially with extorted and fiat money.
Just make me King of the U.S.A.