News Photo by Steve Schulwitz Alpena County Assistant IT Director Logan Kemp does some maintenance at one of the computer terminals at the courthouse on Thursday.

ALPENA — Finding a way to spend millions of dollars could prove difficult in Alpena County.

The Alpena County Board of Commissioners continues to consider how to best utilize its portion of the American Rescue Plan Act, which was passed by Congress and signed by President Joe Biden earlier this year.

The county will receive about $5.5 million, but limitations on how the money can be spent present a problem and may not be as helpful to the county and its finances as hoped.

The government set restrictions on how the money can be spent, which may help the county’s budget little and limit what it can do to make improvements in the area.

At a special meeting of the board of commissioners on Thursday, the commissioners tossed ideas around on how best to use the money and will begin to compile a list of possible projects.

Although there are some unknown and gray areas in the guidance from the U.S. Department of Treasury, someone will benefit from the money.

Recent guidance from the treasury outlined how the funds can be used. The money, which will be deposited in two parts, must be spent by the end of 2024.

WHAT CAN’T THE FUNDS BE USED FOR?

The funds can’t be used to pay down debt, such as unfunded retirement pension obligations. The county’s annual payment to the Municipal Employees’ Retirement System of Michigan is about $1 million a year. If that payment was reduced, the county’s budget would see less red in it. The county is also not allowed to pay off debt, such as bonds. The county has bonds for its Ameresco project, which updated county-owned facilities to make them more energy efficient or for the new terminal at the Alpena County Regional Airport.

The money can’t be used for streets or bridge maintenance or needed improvements or to stabilize savings accounts. The county has virtually drained its budget stabilization fund to help shrink recent budget deficits and it could use replenishing.

Using the money in order to cut taxes is also not allowed.

ACCEPTABLE SPENDING

Much of what the money can be used for is COVID-19 related and to address the fallout from the pandemic.

∫ Support public health expenditures, by funding COVID-19 mitigation efforts, medical expenses, behavioral healthcare, and certain public health and safety staff.

∫ Address negative economic impacts caused by the public health emergency, including economic harms to workers, households, small businesses, impacted industries, and the public sector.

∫ Replace lost public sector revenue, using this funding to provide government services to the extent of the reduction in revenue experienced due to the pandemic.

∫ Provide premium pay for essential workers, offering additional support to those who have borne and will bear the greatest health risks because of their service in critical infrastructure sectors.

∫ Invest in water, sewer, and broadband infrastructure, making necessary investments to improve access to clean drinking water, support vital wastewater and stormwater infrastructure, and to expand access to broadband internet.

WHAT WILL ALPENA COUNTY DO?

The county doesn’t have a water system to maintain, so it could pass the money along to other municipalities to invest in water and sewer projects. Investment in fiber optics is also possible to provide quality high-speed internet to residents in rural areas of the county.

The county already used prior stimulus to provide hazard pay to employees, for COVID-19 testing and vaccination costs and to cover some revenue loss earlier in the pandemic.

An investment into information technology and cyber security is another project the county will check to see if it falls within the guidelines, along with having a new elevator installed at the courthouse.

The money can be used to help bolster businesses, organizations that were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic or for health services and other social programs.

Commissioner Bob Adrian said restrictions on how the money can be used sort of handcuffs the board of commissioners, but he said the board intends to invest the funds where they will have the biggest impact on residents, and could support qualifying projects in other municipalities in the county.

“We may have to look at this as being money for the community as a whole, that is funneled through the county,” Adrian said.