The county will have all of the $36.4 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act funding received in 2021 and 2022 allocated to a variety of programs and projects by the Dec. 31 deadline. ARPA regulations require the money to be spent by Dec. 31, 2026.

Through ARPA, $6.15 billion was allocated to Pennsylvania counties, cities and local governments to support COVID-19 response efforts, replace lost revenue, support economic stabilization for households and businesses, and address systemic public health and economic challenges.

Ann Brown, county budget director, highlighted a report on the obligations at the commissioners Oct. 23 meeting.

The county commissioners allocatedd the money in accordance with a 2021 resolution they adopted that directs 45% of the money to revenue replacement, capital and public safety projects; 35% to infrastructure and broadband projects; 15% to public health and services for disproportionately impact communities; and 5% to offset negative economic impact situation, projects and studies.

Under the $18.4 million obligated revenue replacement, capital and public safety projects category went to creating the EMS Academy at Butler County Community College, EMS staffing assistance provided by Independence Health’s Butler Memorial Hospital, an EMS study in the southern tier of the county being conducted by Cranberry Township and manufacturing grants awarded to businesses.

Capital projects funded under that category include relocating the Butler City and Butler Township district court offices, the coroner’s office, Area Agency on Aging and Veterans Services offices and creating a morgue in the coroner’s office. The relocation and expansion of the Election Bureau office and heating, ventilation and air conditioning upgrades at the courthouse.

The commissioners tabbed $15.6 million to cover the cost of infrastructure projects undertaken by 31 municipalities and water and sewer authorities. Some of the grantees used the ARPA money to match grants. Brown estimated that the cost of the projects totaled “probably well over $45 million.”

To offset negative economic impacts, the commissioners obligated $1.6 million to the Pittsburgh-Butler Regional Airport for water and sewer service expansion and development of airport property, Community Development Corporation for new business expansion and economic growth for existing businesses, and BC3 for establishing and maintaining relationship with workforce development officials.

For disproportionately impacted communities and public health, the commissioners obligated $489,995 to Butler Memorial Hospital for providing premium employee pay and for consulting services during the pandemic.

The $254,252 earmarked for consulting went to Delta Development Group for vetting the municipal infrastructure projects and making sure the project invoices were eligible for reimbursement.

Leslie Osche, county commissioners chairwoman, said many counties deposited ARPA money into the general funds in their budgets to offset costs, but that is a bad practice because they could become reliant on the extra money and overspend.

Investing the money into communities to address issues and challenges and using it for revenue replacement and capital projects prevented the county from having to borrow money, Osche said.

County Commissioner Kevin Boozel said some counties in the area are raising taxes because of how they spent their ARPA money.

County Commissioner Kim Geyer said the county’s investment of the ARPA money has spurred additional investment, helped employment and benefited municipal infrastructure projects.