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WHEELING -- The city of Wheeling is expected to use a chunk of its federal pandemic relief funds to reimburse city coffers for nearly a quarter-million to almost a half-million dollars in eligible expenses for municipal employees during the height of the COVID-19 crisis.
The city has received a total of around $29.5 million through the American Rescue Plan Act and has been allocating portions of these funds to community projects deemed eligible by the U.S. Department of Treasury's regulations on how these relief funds can be spent.
Members of Wheeling's Finance Committee of Council recently discussed a second revision needed for the 2022-23 municipal budget to allow for reimbursable government employee expenses using some of the pandemic relief funds.
"There is a provision in the ARPA regulations that is a stand-alone, where public employers who hired employees during the height of the pandemic -- those positions that were filled during that time are eligible for reimbursement through the ARPA funding," Wheeling City Manager Robert Herron explained.
Based on the formula outlined in the ARPA fund regulations, Herron said the city had a total of 16 positions that were eligible for reimbursement to the city's general fund during the time frame between March 2020 when the pandemic began and March 2021 when the eligibility window closed.
"To date, that represents $290,617 that is eligible for reimbursement," Herron said. "There are also provisions where increases in police and fire can also be reimbursed to the general fund."
The city manager noted there were increases in police pay during that time period that totaled $75,955, as well as increases in fire department pay totaling $73,567 during the same window.
"If you combine both of those together with the $290,617, the total amount that's eligible for reimbursement through ARPA funds is $440,000," Herron said.
However, city council is not expected to seek reimbursement for the entire eligible total all at once, if at all.
"This budget revision accounts for $220,000 of that -- so we're not recommending that all of that be reimbursed at this time," he said. "As we move through the budget year and through the ARPA allocation process at city council, we will review this as we go."
City leaders are expected to review the status of the remaining ARPA funds later in the fiscal year before making a final decision on the remaining reimbursable amount. Officials are continuing to review requests for ARPA funding, and some projects that were already approved by council using ARPA funds are still ongoing. For example, the application window for residents eligible for a $5,000 Homeowner-Occupied Repair Assistance Program grant remains open until the end of the month. The number of applications will determine the total amount of funds that need to be dedicated to the program.
In addition to an adjustment to account for the Government Employment Rehiring Public Sector reimbursement for the ARPA funds, this most recent revision to the city's 2022-23 budget also included an adjustment for funds to Grow Ohio Valley. This award totaling $120,000 from the city's general fund moved forward through a new ordinance that was approved to help Grow OV pay expenses for administering $3.2 million it has secured through an abandoned mine land grant.
These funds are for a rehabilitation project along Vineyard Hill. Councilwoman Rosemary Ketchum, who is involved with Grow OV's Edible Mountain project for which the grant has been targeted, abstained from the vote last week when the administrative costs were approved. Councilman Ben Seidler, noting that the city typically does not pay administrative expenses for other entities, voted against the ordinance, which still passed by a majority vote.
Officials indicated that this was an unusual situation, as the reclamation grant money for Grow OV cannot be used for salaries or operational costs. Seidler indicated his dissenting vote was a matter of being consistent with past funding awards from the city, noting he appreciates the contributions of Grow OV to the community.