Dallas County has $18.4 million in pandemic aid left to spend by Dec. 31, with a backup plan to shift it

Dallas County has about $18.4 million left from its $511.9 million share of federal pandemic relief and roughly two months to spend it. Commissioners are scheduled to approve a closeout plan for the money on Nov. 3, including a fallback list that could move dollars from slow projects to a few larger ones.

The county's share of American Rescue Plan Act recovery funds has paid for 117 projects since commissioners accepted it in June 2021, according to a briefing in the Nov. 3 agenda. As of September, about $493.5 million had been spent. Federal rules require the remaining money to be spent by Dec. 31, including by contractors and other groups the county funds, the briefing says.

Where the money went

The updated project list in the packet shows some of the largest items:

• $53.7 million for a Biosafety Level 3 laboratory for the county health department
• $41.5 million for a 2022 employee retention program
• $39.9 million for a new emergency management operations center
• $23.7 million for added public health and safety staff
• $23.6 million for the Dallas Real Time Rapid Rehousing Initiative
• $20.7 million for a broadband infrastructure initiative
• $14.8 million for sheriff's office overtime in 2024
• $13.3 million for courts set up to work through a criminal case backlog

Smaller grants went to nonprofits, trail projects, Parkland Health programs and affordable housing developments across the county.

Shifting what is left

County staff say the revised list reflects reconciliations and corrected obligations. It lowers project amounts by a net $5.25 million to match final or projected costs, with the probate court renovation at the George Allen Courts Building down about $782,000 and sheriff's office COVID-related spending down about $2.8 million.

The plan also sets out contingency moves for projects that may not spend their full amounts in time. Three projects are named to absorb extra money if it comes free: the BSL-3 lab, the broadband initiative and an enhanced contract security services project.

The contingency column shows up to $5.9 million potentially coming off a $12.6 million housing project on Lancaster Road and the full $4 million set aside for a Builders of Hope CDC project near Mountain Creek Lake.

A note on the list says those contingency amounts are not final and depend on whether each project can use its money within the grant period. Staff say no other major changes are expected, though some active projects may come back for final budget adjustments.

Closeout work, including final reports to the U.S. Treasury due Jan. 31 and April 30, is expected to run into early 2027.

The court meets at 9 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 3, at 500 Elm St. in downtown Dallas.

Sources

dallascounty.civicweb.net

dallascounty.civicweb.net