Going into the last year to designate the 2021 ARPA funds, the Town of Franklin and Macon County have just over a combined half million dollars to use.
The $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, a COVID-19 stimulus bill, passed Congress in March 2021. States, counties, municipalities and nonprofits received varying amounts of funding.
ARPA funds have an obligation deadline of Dec. 31, 2024, just under a year from now, and must be spent by Dec. 31, 2026. Unused ARPA money must be returned to the U.S. Treasury.
According to Franklin Town Manager Amie Owens, the town got $1,308,253.01 in ARPA Funds by the end of 2023.
Owens lists five uses for the ARPA funds so far. In 2021-22, the town gave a one-time bonus for employees working during the pandemic, totaling $70,870.95. In 2022-23, Franklin spent $22,000 to purchase a tract of land from Mainspring Conservation Trust, $9,150 on engineering/design for the Clyde Street Waterline improvement project, $366,150 for the Water Treatment Plant improvement project, and $12,420.51 for the Maple Street sidewalk. This means $480,591.46 of the APRA funds, or 36.74% of the total, has been spent.
The town has earmarked ARPA funds toward two more projects that have yet to be done. The town designated $405,900 for sidewalk repair and reconditioning on short Maple Street, Harrison Avenue and Phillips Street. The other is $150,000 to connect the Little Tennessee Greenway extension to Allman Drive. These two designated uses represent $555,900, or 42.49% of the overall funds.
The remaining funds are $271,761.55, or 20.77%, of Franklin’s ARPA funds that have yet to be designated.
Macon County funds
According to a handout County Manager Derek Roland gave the Board of Commissioners on Dec. 12, the county had received $7,855,550.71 in ARPA funds.
A total of $3,692,581.72 (47%) has gone to the premium pay plan that gave employees temporary raises. In 2021-22, $1,534,583.58 went to salaries and $307,339.81 to fringe benefits. In 2022-23, $1,531,213.90 will go to salaries and $319,444.43 to fringes.
On April 10, 2023, the U.S. Treasury changed its rules because the pandemic was declared over, and premium pay was no longer an approved use of ARPA funds. In November, the county approved resuming premium pay, but with the money coming from the general fund. An equal amount of ARPA money will be transferred to the general fund as “revenue replacement.”
The county transferred $2,501,217 to the general fund for crime prevention salaries/fringes, $37,270 to the housing fund for housing director salaries/fringes and $237,501 to the solid waste fund for solid waste admin salaries/fringes. These transfers equal $2,775,988 (35.3%).
In 2022-23, Macon County used $25,000 for a GREAT grant match for broadband. An additional $175,000 will be used to meet the match obligation.
For the N.C. Weatherization Assistance Program, $93,237.38 went to housing for salaries, fringes, COVID-related program operations, equipment and a vehicle. The county allocated an additional $85,715.33 to housing for the Heating and Air Repair and Replacement Program.
The Macon County Health Department received $547,252 (6.97%) for various COVID-19 pandemic programs.
Macon County Transit received $164,350 in ARPA funds.
The remaining $296,426.28 (3.77%) is undesignated.