The legislature of Orange County, New York, unanimously passed a revised spending plan of close to $75 million in federal COVID-19 dollars on Mar. 2.
The money was allocated to the county under the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA)—a $1.9 trillion federal pandemic stimulus package signed into law two years ago.
By law, the funds can be used in four primary ways: to replace lost government revenue, respond to the health and economic impacts brought by the pandemic, provide premium pay for essential workers, and invest in infrastructure such as water, sewer, and broadband.
The county’s revised spending plan focuses on buildings, technology infrastructure, and staff salaries.
About 30 percent of the money, or $24 million, goes to a new building for the medical examiner’s office, which currently uses trailers as morgues and autopsy rooms.
Another $5 million is earmarked to remove the asbestos from the former Webb Horton house in Middletown, which houses the administrative offices of Community College of Orange County.
In terms of technology infrastructure, $6 million is set aside for new advanced antennas in about 30 school buildings for emergency radio coverage, $4.5 million for laptops and docking stations for remote work by county employees, and $6 million for enhanced security systems at county buildings.
$16 million is for sign-on bonuses, overtime payments, and salaries for county employees.
Equipment purchases for the department of public works take up about $6 million, including big-ticket items such as plow trucks, mowing tractors, and excavators.
County Executive Steve Neuhaus, who proposed the revised spending plan, said in a press release, “These projects will greatly benefit the county government and our residents. I look forward to collaborating with the legislature and our department heads on moving these initiatives forward.”
“I applaud our department heads, who, along with our consultants, formulated a solid list of projects,” County Legislature Chairwoman Katie Bonelli said in a press release. “They addressed the challenges of the criteria and eligibility set forth by the [ARPA] program with careful consideration.”
Disappointments of Minority Party
Before casting a yes vote for the spending plan, legislature Democratic minority leader Michael Paduch expressed his disappointment over not being part of the negotiations.
“Orange County has not promoted or encouraged any community involvement, or even included the entire legislature—its governing body—to be involved in the best uses of our share of those $75 million,” he said during the Mar. 2 legislative session.
He cited examples of other counties across the country that assembled advisory committees and hosted community town halls to seek public input on spending ARPA dollars.
Democratic legislators Genesis Ramos and Kevindaryán Luján echoed the sentiment, with the latter adding that it would be a good idea to use some money to tackle the housing shortage.
About seven Democrats sit on the 21-member county legislature.
Paduch said he hoped for more public input sessions down the road to further revise the plan, which by law must be finalized by December 2024.
Changes to the Original Plan
James O’Donnell, a Conservative Party lawmaker, said he was disappointed over the exclusion of a new health department building in the revised plan.
The building was included in the original ARPA spending plan, with a price tag of $23 million.
“It was embarrassing to me as a member of the legislature and the former deputy county executive that their reasoning is that they couldn’t get it done in four years,” O’Donnell said on March 2.
During a February Ways and Means Committee meeting, county budget director Deborah Slesinski contributed many of the changes in the original plan to timeline constraints.
Under federal regulations, local governments have until December 2026 to spend ARPA money for full reimbursements.
“Our major concern [is] to not return any money to the federal government,” Slesinski said.
As a result, the proposed health building and another $6 million Valley View nursing center sewer plant project were taken off the original plan for fear of not meeting the deadline.
About $8 million in unspent COVID-19 response money (such as test kits, communications, and exposures) was also reallocated to new projects in the revised plan.
