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Washington County submits its second quarter report regarding American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds before the April 30 deadline.

District 1 Commissioner Mitch Antle says their intent by resolution was to use up to $10 million in ARPA funds as the standard deduction of revenue loss. Antle says they were required in the reporting mechanism to state how much they gave, with Ray of Hope Advocacy Center being their only sub recipient at this point in time. He says that means the balance of the money was reported as standard deduction, which is not to say that they can't change that in order to make accommodations down the road.

Commissioner Antle says this is an important distinction because under a standard deduction with regard to County General Fund dollars, Washington County has no statutory capacity to interact with 501(c)(3)'s as it is illegal. He says they have had that capacity under ARPA final rule guidance.

But there's a catch. Commissioner Antle says they wanted to have that clear distinction and the ability to float between the two standards, but Washington County has since been pinned down. He says they will have to discuss this further in the future when they look at any other projects.

District 3 Commissioner Mike Dunlap says anything that government does has an unintended consequence. Commissioner Antle agreed, saying he should have foreseen that they were going to be pinned down in this matter. He says it was just a bit optimistic to think that they could have done better for themselves.