Baxter County is expected to receive $4.05 million in federal funds in the coming days, County Judge Mickey Pendergrass told the Quorum Court at Tuesday night’s May meeting.
Justices of the Peace voted 10-1 to create a special fund to house the money, which is being given to the county as part of the federal American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. That act was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Joe Biden on March 11 to speed up the nation’s recovery from the COVID-10 pandemic.
Baxter County will eventually receive a total of $8.1 million from the American Rescue Plan, with the first half expected to be turned over to in the next 10-14 days and the second half to arrive a year from now.
County judges were still awaiting instructions as to what the American Rescue Plan money can and cannot be used on, Pendergrass told the Quorum Court Tuesday night. Justices of the peace will be briefed on those spending guidelines once the federal government issues them, he said.
“This is one-time money and you really have to be careful how you spend it or they will jump down your throat,” Pendergrass told the Quorum Court.
There does not appear to be a deadline for counties to spend their American Rescue Plan dollars, Pendergrass said. One option for using the funds would be to place it into savings and let the money draw interest, he said. Such an option is typically not available with federal money, but it is in this case.
All of Arkansas’ 75 counties will receive some money from the American Rescue Plan. Exactly how much each county receives is based on its population.
“I think every county will want to spend its money on something different,” Pendergrass said. “The government has a one-size-fits-all approach to this, but that doesn’t really work all that well.
Quorum Court members Dennis Frank, Angela DeGroote, Robert Lowery, Maryanne Edge, Tink Albright, Charles Osgood, Roger Steele, Cameron Davis, Kevin Litty and Ty Chapman each voted in favor of creating the account to hold the American Rescue Plan funds. Dirk Waldrop voted against it.
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