The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) is funneling billions of dollars to state and local governments and Coahoma County has said it wants to hire a man to help them spend it.
Supervisors voted 3-2, last week to hire Andrew L. Smith as their consultant to manage spending approximately $4.3 million in ARPA funds. Smith will get 5-percent or approximately $212,000.
And in a strange turn of events the board voted unanimously to hire James Curcio, Executive Director of North Delta Planning and Development, (NDPDD) to handle their state and federal grants before it hired Smith. In a presentation to the board Curcio said NDPDD would take on the task of directing ARPA funds through the county to various projects.
NDPDD already handles state and federal grants for water and sewer projects, federal housing projects, economic development funding and programs that build communities.
North Delta provides planning and development services for a seven-county region for Coahoma, DeSoto, Panola, Quitman, Tallahatchie, Tate, and Tunica counties.
Smith is listed at the director of the Mississippi Association of Supervisors Minority Caucus. He was fired from his job as County Administrator in Kemper County in August 2015. He was fired from his job at City Planner in Natchez in 2016 with the city citing poor performance being a concern.
The motion to hire Smith was made by Board President Johnny Newson, seconded by Dist 5 Supervisor Roosevelt and supported by Dist 3 Supervisor Derrell Washington. Dist.1 Supervisor Paul Pearson and Dist. 2 Supervisor Pat Davis voted against hiring Smith.
Mississippi has received $6 billion in federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds for infrastructure and COVID recovery projects, but there are strings attached to that money.
As importantly, our cities, counties, and rural water associations are depending on millions of dollars in ARPA funds to rehabilitate aged water and sewer systems across the state.
The money can not be spent on projects that are already in a budget and they can’t be used to purchase property or reduce taxes.
The funds must be obligated to projects by Dec. 31, 2024. Funds not used must be sent back to the state and federal government.
Record-level inflation may be problem with some of these projects. Every day of delay sees the cost of construction going up and the value of ARPA funds going down.
Delays also mean there is less time to complete the jobs and fewer available contractors, subcontractors and engineers. All states and counties are also competing for the same labor pool.
Allocations earmarked for local cities, towns and counties are:
CITY/TOWN Allocation
Alligator $40,000
Batesville $1,630,000
Charleston $420,000
Clarksdale* $3,360,000
Cleveland $2,500,000
Coahoma* $70,000
Friars Point* $230,000
Indianola $2,040,000
Jonestown* $250,000
Lula* $60,000
Lyon* $60,000
Marks $320,000
Shelby $440,000
Sumner $60,000
Tunica $190,000
* = Local city/town.
COUNTIES Allocation
Bolivar $5,940,000
Coahoma $4,290,000
Quitman $1,320,000
Sunflower $4,870,000
Tallahatchie $2,680,000
Tunica $1,870,000
