Union County has been awarded nearly $100,000 through a provision of the American Rescue Plan, Justices of the Peace learned during their monthly Quorum Court meeting last week.
Jody Cunningham, administrative assistant to the county judge, explained last Thursday that the Local Assistance and Tribal Consistency Fund (LATC) was included in the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) as a "general revenue enhancement program."
"The Department of Treasury set aside $2 billion to eligible revenue-sharing counties and tribal governments," Cunningham explained. "We are not a tribal government, but we are an eligible revenue-sharing county."
Cunningham said she applied for the funds on the county's behalf at the beginning of October, and by the Wednesday before the Quorum Court meeting, the first $97,010.34 payment had already arrived.
"We will get that same amount next year for a total of $194,020.68," Cunningham said.
The criteria for eligibility for the funds included being "independent of any other local government" and "a principal provider of governmental services for that jurisdiction," Cunningham told JPs. According to the U.S. Treasury Department, the funds are meant to help cover lost revenues caused by inconsistent application of other federal payments to local governments.
The county will have broad discretion over how to spend the LATC funds; the U.S. Treasury Department states that the money can be used for "any governmental purpose except for a lobbying activity."
In Arkansas, 67 counties were awarded LATC funds this month, including 27 that received more than Union County. In total, Arkansas counties were awarded approximately $13 million this year, and the total will double with payments scheduled next year.
Last Thursday, District 1 JP Mike Dumas, who chairs the Quorum Court's finance committee, introduced an ordinance to create a new sub-fund in the county general fund for LATC money. Cunningham noted that the county will have to make an annual report to the federal government on how the LATC funds are spent. JPs did not discuss any potential uses for the funds last week.
In addition to the LATC funds, Union County has been awarded $7 million through the American Rescue Plan Act.
JPs agreed over the summer to purchase the Warner Brown hospital building in order to convert it to a crisis stabilization unit and central 911 dispatch center; the building was purchased with county funds, but the conversion will use ARPA money. ARPA funds have also been used to pay county workers incentive bonuses for getting the COVID-19 vaccine.
This story has been updated to add context about Union County's use of ARPA money.