ARPA’s “moving target” comes into focus

A year ago, the Jefferson County Commission produced its first draft of a plan to invest $2.4 million in federal aid over two years from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) — and even as it revealed a budget, it promised that the allocations probably would change over time.

A year in, the County has spent or committed $393,000 of the grant funds — and, in fact, the allocations are about to change.

“We had the foresight to see that this was going to be a moving target,” said Eric Seidenstecker, executive director of the Jefferson Local Development Corporation, which has advised the county on its investment strategy and implementation. “The year-two funding always had an asterisk” — meaning the early numbers were seen as provisional.