ARPA funds spur clash at county meeting

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SANDPOINT — Bonner County commissioners made a clerical decision on the documentation of $8.8 million in federal money coming to Bonner County from the American Rescue Plan Act.

But that did not change the wave of backlash pointed at county officials from members of the community who think the money should be returned to the federal government.

In an item brought by the Prosecutor’s Office during the commission’s weekly business meeting, the commissioners had to decide how potential spending of the funds were going to be reported to the federal government, where the funds originated.

The American Rescue Plan Act was passed by the Biden Administration in March 2021. The $1.9 trillion stimulus was passed to alleviate the economic strain caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

At Tuesday’s commissioner’s meeting, the board was tasked with making a decision by April 30 on how the potential spending of ARPA funds is going to be documented and reported.

Although the county commissioners have not yet decided whether or not to spend any of the $8.8 million in ARPA funding allocated to the county, the deadline for making a decision on how potential spending will be reported is due by the end of this month.

At least three people spoke multiple times on the matter, with only one commenter offering specific input on the reporting requirement. Public comments drew responses from the panel of commissioners, County Clerk Michael Rosedale, and County Comptroller Nancy Klein.

“This phase decision is going to be about how we fill out the form,” Rosedale said at the beginning of the meeting, during general public comment. “There’s a fork in the road. We can either apply this way or that way. It has nothing to do with spending the money. And everybody here is in no rush to try to get us handcuffed, hooked, anything like that.”

“The treasury recommends that smaller counties take the standardized version,” Rosedale said later in the meeting. “It’s a difference between a standard deduction and an itemized deduction.”

Klein then spoke about the county’s obligations on the matter.

“We have been told, either way, that a decision must be made by the April 30 reporting deadline — whether we choose now, or in the future to spend it or not,” Klein said.

Klein also mentioned that there is no extension when it comes to making a decision.

Resident Kendra Martin spoke more than twice during public comment portions of the meeting about what the county ought to do about the reporting requirements, and about the underlying opposition to ARPA funding as a whole.

“All of these terms have conditions, they’re ambiguous. They create confusion. Who signs a contract where you don’t have all of the terms?” Martin said.

Martin continued speaking until she was cut off by Commissioner Jeff Connolly.

“Just to be clear, even if we say yes to this, we can still turn around next week and say, ‘We’re sending it right back,’” Connolly said. “What you’re confusing is that we’re agreeing to all kinds of things beyond what we’ve already agreed to.”

After a brief response from Martin, Rosedale spoke once more before public comment was closed by Commissioner Chair Dan McDonald.

“This is not about spending,” Rosedale said. “We’re at a fork in the road. The fact that we don’t know all of the exits down this highway or all the exits down that highway is irrelevant. We’re at a fork in the road and we have to choose whether to go left or right, that’s what we’re talking about today.”

Afterward, the commission unanimously approved making a decision by the reporting deadline, although it is unclear from meeting minutes which of the two reporting options they chose.

For those who wish to provide comment to county officials about this topic, county commissioners and their contact information can be found on the county’s website at BonnerCountyID.gov.