Luzerne County Council voting on American Rescue allocation

Luzerne County Council is set to vote Tuesday on a request for $500,000 of the county’s remaining $97.5 million in American Rescue Plan funding.

The Hazleton City Land Bank requested the money to assist in acquiring and rehabilitating blighted properties.

A similar request already has been approved. Council had voted in February to allocate $500,000 in American Rescue funding to the North East Pennsylvania Land Bank Authority, which focuses on blight reduction in multiple Pittston area municipalities.

The county is set to receive a total $112.89 million in American Rescue funding.

To date, it has approved $15.424 million in earmarks in addition to the one for the North East Pennsylvania Land Bank Authority allocation. The others:

• Up to $8 million to the county Flood Protection Authority, which oversees the Wyoming Valley Levee along the Susquehanna River.

• $924,000 to cover county public transportation matches

• $4 million for county prison repairs and information technology needs.

• $2 million to help pay for the construction of the rain garden and stream bank restoration, which will create a $2 million credit so county government does not have to pay a stormwater fee until the credit runs out.

Funding won’t be released to the outside entities until the county has verified that promised work has been completed and that it meets all federal program requirements, said County Acting Manager Romilda Crocamo.

The county does not have to commit to an American Rescue allocation plan until the end of 2024 and has until the end of 2026 to spend the money.

At the request of council members, the administration is currently seeking preliminary applications for the funding so council can assess other community needs and weigh all options.

Requests will be accepted until April 29. Pre-applications are posted on the main page at luzernecounty.org.

There is no guarantee pre-applicants will be asked to submit a subsequent formal application for funding, the county said.

Crocamo stressed American Rescue funds cannot be used to cover debt service, replenish rainy day funds or pay off legal settlements or judgements.

Applicants must be organizations because the county is not accepting submissions from individuals or specific businesses. For example, a chamber of commerce or economic development organization may seek funding to provide an assistance program for small businesses. Nonprofits, municipalities and municipal authorities are other examples of potential applicants, the county said.

More plans

Tuesday’s council work session agenda includes a discussion on earmarking $168,100 of the American Rescue funding for PFM Group Consulting LLC to complete a 10-year financial plan for the county.

The county’s plan to complete a five-year fiscal plan in 2020 was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the agenda said.

A new plan covering 2020 through 2029 will allow PFM to use 2020 and 2021 audited data to make projections, it said. The plan would examine all department expenses and revenue countywide and focus partially on prison infrastructure options, it said.

”At the end of this plan, Luzerne County is scheduled to be almost completely out of debt,” the agenda said.

Also on the work session agenda is a proposal to retain Columbia, Maryland-based Booth Management Consulting for $254,706 to administrator and manage the county’s American Rescue Plan awards.

”The U.S. Treasury will audit the ARPA funds, and the county wants to ensure that all funds are spent in compliance with the final rule,” the agenda said.

Booth Management has propriety computer software for tracking and auditing purposes. This contract would cover the first year of services.

The county received proposals from 15 companies to perform the work. After virtual interviews with six, the administration completed follow-up inquiries with two and recommended Booth based on its price and overall ability to provide requested services, the agenda said.

Because work sessions are only for discussion, council would have to vote on the 10-year plan and Booth Management contract at a future meeting.

The work session follows the 6 p.m. voting meeting Tuesday, which will be held at the county courthouse on River Street in Wilkes-Barre. Instructions for remote attendance are posted under council’s online meeting link at luzernecounty.org.