$72 million in federal funding was at stake. Pierce County says it will keep its ARPA funding
After months of dispute over what would be done with federal funding that would expire at the end of 2024 if not allocated, the Pierce County Council’s unanimous passage of the Mid-Biennium Supplemental Budget at the end of November will keep the funding available for the county.
The American Rescue Plan Act has made roughly $175 million federal dollars available for Pierce County since 2021, according to the county council’s budget policy analyst, Paul Bocchi.
Under the federal government’s rules, the funding must be allocated and in contract before the end of 2024 or the funds will expire. The funds must be spent before the end of 2026.
In an interview with The News Tribune, Bocchi said the county has spent about $25 million in ARPA funding in 2024, but still has $72 million left to spend.
Much of the ARPA funding has been allocated by the county to invest in affordable housing and programs aimed at mitigating the homelessness crisis.
Bocchi said about $34.5 million of the ARPA funding left to be spent has been earmarked for housing-related projects. He said $9.6 million was allocated to the controversial Good Neighbor Village near Spanaway Lake, which was the county’s single largest housing investment.
Before the passage of the Mid-Biennium Supplemental Budget, three projects slated to be paid for with ARPA dollars were designated as “high risk.” Bocchi said the “high risk” designation was due to complications with the projects that may have prohibited them from being funded before the end of 2024.
One of those projects selected by the Pierce County council to receive $2.5 million of ARPA funding was for a homeless stability site to serve as temporary emergency shelter for those living unhoused in Pierce County. This project, and others funded by ARPA, were initially obstructed by county zoning code, which prohibited homeless shelters from existing for longer than 90 days.
The process of getting money for the stability site was further complicated by political opposition to the kind of temporary shelter it offered. In August, Pierce County Executive Bruce Dammeier promised to veto legislation that would have made it possible to establish the stability site.
In September, Dammeier vetoed a supplemental budget the council passed along party lines which proposed using the $2.5 million for “non-congregate temporary micro shelter communities” instead of a “stability site.”
Following the executive’s veto, council members such as Marty Campbell expressed doubt that the council and the executive would be able to agree on a supplemental budget to allocate the ARPA funds before they expire at the end of the year.
Unanimous passage
Republicans on the county council opposed the summer supplemental budget brought forward by their Democrat colleagues.
In an interview with The News Tribune, Council member Dave Morell said the supplemental budget is supposed to be narrowly focused. He said he felt the majority party kept expanding the budget and that is part of why he opposed it.
Morell told The News Tribune he also opposed using $2.5 million to establish a Pierce County stability site shelter, which he felt would have been unfavorable for any community that would have hosted it.
“I wanted to expand the county’s Safe Parking program,” he said in an interview. “Expand a successful program instead of starting a brand new one.”
Morell told The News Tribune he felt the county had done a good job of using ARPA funds for one-time appropriations instead of using the limited time funds to support new programs that could not be sustained by the county in the long run.
After the unanimous passage of the supplemental budget, Bocchi told The News Tribune county staff does not anticipate any ARPA funding to expire at the end of 2024.
Pierce County’s Human Services Department administers the contracts and funding for affordable housing and resources for the unhoused. Kari Moore, a spokesperson for the department, told The News Tribune that there will be no impact to department following the passage of the Mid-Biennium Supplemental Budget.
He said the county has accrued nearly $13 million in interest from the ARPA fund, which can be put in the general fund and more than cover the costs of the “high risk” projects, which he estimated to cost about $4 million.
The $2.5 million originally slated for the stability site has now been allocated for “homeless housing solutions” and the use must be approved by the council after Feb. 1, 2025.
“The language was intentionally written as broadly as possible while making sure it stayed in the homeless space,” Council Member Jani Hitchen told The News Tribune about the change.
Hitchen said the $2.5 million could still be used for a temporary housing community if the council and executive agreed to do so.
Council Member Ryan Mello, who was elected to be the next Pierce County Executive, told The News Tribune that the council is still fine-tuning exactly what the funding will be used for.
“The current thinking is case management or supports to keep existing or new temporary housing operating,” he told The News Tribune. “Resources that will be used on strategies to best move people to stability who are currently living on the streets.”
