Johnson County staff told supervisors Aug. 6 they will propose contract amendments to reallocate ARPA funds originally set aside for emergency home repair and rehabilitation.
Lynette (last name not provided), county staff, said the board previously allocated $900,000 in ARPA funds for emergency home repair and rehabilitation, split between Iowa Valley Habitat for Humanity and the East Central Iowa Council of Governments (ECICOG). ECICOG now has a waiting list and faced a near-term exhaustion of its funds, while Habitat appeared likely to be underspent. To meet demand, staff propose decreasing the Habitat subrecipient agreement by $69,112 and increasing ECICOG’s allocation accordingly.
The Habitat amendment also would allow up to $50,000 of its contract to be used to assist households within Iowa City proper, Lynette said, noting Iowa City’s local programs have depleted loan-based options and that flexibility will help serve city residents in need. Supervisors had no substantive objections and staff said both amendments would be brought forward for formal action at next week’s meeting.
Why it matters: reallocating ARPA subrecipient funds aims to prevent service interruptions for households awaiting emergency repairs while using available contract dollars where the need is greatest.