At the March meeting of the McDonough County Board, Board member Ken Durkin brought forth a motion that was voted down to forward to transfer of funds from the county's American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Account to the Animal Control Memorial Fund to help with the funding equipment that will be used in a new animal shelter that will eventually replace the county's dilapidated shelter.
The Board voted against an amended motion to transfer $55,244 in interest income from the more than $5 million provided to the county from ARPA.
But what exactly are ARPA funds and what were they used for? McDonough County Clerk Jeremy Benson sat down with The Community News Brief (CNB) to explain how those COVID relief funds were used, and now that the U.S. Treasury has reconciled those funds, the county's ARPA reporting account with the treasury is now considered closed.
The interest from that now inactive fund, which totals slightly over $110,400, remains in a separate fund, awaiting a future decision by the County Board on how best to use the funds. Going back to the funds that were provided, the county passed its first ordinance in January 2022 and a subsequent ordinance in August 2023. In addition, the county hired a consultant to in 2023 ensure that all i's were dotted and t's crossed in regard to the federal funding and its disbursements.
'To apply for the funds, the county had to submit an itemized application to the U.S. Treasury for approval. It was a very lengthy application that had to be reviewed and approved by the federal government,' Benson explained. 'The county also had to submit annual reporting to ensure that it was complying with the use of funds.'
The county received $5,765,381 from the U.S. Treasury’s SLFRF (State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds) program, over the course of nine months in 2023. According to Benson, during that time, some of the county's expenses were paid directly from this fund and some were prior expenses paid out of County General funds (to be reimbursed by the program funds), he noted. The County Board passed an ordinance on Sept. 20, 2023, under then-County Board Chair Scott Schwerer and then-County Clerk Gretchen DeJaynes, which stated: 'Whereas, McDonough County elected the Standard Allowance method of calculating Lost Revenue as allowed by the U.S.
TREASURY FINAL RULE, thus enabling McDonough County to use available ARPA STATE AND LOCAL FISCAL RECOVERY FUNDS for 'Government services generally include any service traditionally provided by a government, including construction of roads and other infrastructures, provision of public safety and other services, and health and educational services.' and in accordance with cited restrictions defined in the U.S. TREASURY FINAL RULE.'
The 2023 ordinance stated, 'the treasurer would make APRA, State and Local Fiscal Recovery funds available and record the distribution to reimburse the county's general fund for the following:'
• An amount not to exceed $2.9 million for the county payroll from Dec. 1, 2021-Nov. 30, 2022.
• An amount not to exceed $1.4 million for county payroll from Dec. 1, 2022-June 15, 2023.
• An amount not to exceed $342,052 for the purchase of election equipment.
• An amount not to exceed $337,523 for the county's share of health insurance from Dec. 1, 2021Nov. 20, 2022.
• An amount not to exceed $337,523 for the county's share of health insurance from Dec. 1, 2022July 31, 2023.
• An amount not to exceed $29,864 for payment to Sikitch on March 16, 2023 for FY22 County Audit.
Benson explained that interest accrued in the APRA account, even when the funds were being transferred for reimbursements for the 2022 and 2023 General Fund expenditures. Following the reimbursements to the county's General Fund for the ARPA-approved expenditures, the county was in a better financial position to fund approximately $4.5 million for needed courthouse renovations. ARPA reporting account was officially closed out in Fall 2025. The closure was officially approved by the federal government in January 2026, which verified the funds were used as outlined in the initial application. The $110,000-andchange in interest remained in the account.
'We received notification in January that we were in compliance with the use of the funds and we were able to close out the ARPA account,' Benson shared.
'While ARPA funds had very specific uses, which were approved by the U.S.
Treasury, the county can use the interest earned for any necessary expenditure.'
At the March Board meeting, Durkin was seeking part of the interest income to purchase operational equipment, including cages, kennels, sinks, cabinetry and more to be installed, utilized, in a new animal control facility that will be constructed by the Humane Society of McDonough County. The McDonough County Board operates an animal shelter to provide for the housing, care and disposition of lost, abandoned, neglected, stray and impounded animals. The Board has operated the shelter at 101 E. Tower Rd. since 1988. Through an intergovernmental agreement between the City of Macomb and the county, the city contributes 50 percent of the operational dollars necessary to pay for two full-time shelter employees (plus benefits), two part-time employees and veterinary costs for the shelter's animals. All fees collected from the county's mandated registration program, approximately $90,000-$100,000 annually, go directly to shelter operations.
To date, the Humane Society of McDonough County (HSMC) has raised over $1.1 million through its fundraising efforts for a new facility. An existing structure will most likely be renovated versus the initial plan of building a new shelter as construction costs continue to rise.
