Colerain Township barn fire

Firefighters work to extinguish a fire that destroyed a dairy barn on White Rock Road off Noble Road in Colerain Township Friday, Jan. 27, 2023

 BLAINE SHAHAN | Staff Photographer

 

Editor's note: This story was edited at 12:35 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 27, to update the total general government, streets infrastructure and recreation expenses after LNP received adjusted numbers from Christiana Borough, including a $3,700 expense for re-paving of a walking path in South End Park. General government expenses now total $17,209,744.68. Recreation expenses now total $4,917,598.84. Streets infrastructure expenses now total $4,812,446.98.

Local governments throughout Lancaster County faced a big deadline on Dec. 31 – finalizing how they planned to spend any remaining federal recovery money they received via the American Rescue Plan Act, a pandemic recovery law signed by former President Joe Biden in 2021.

ARPA, as the law is known, delivered billions of dollars to local governments across the country. Pennsylvania received $6.15 billion to distribute to municipalities across the state based on population.

The money could be spent on everything from payroll costs to important infrastructure projects like water and sewer lines, new equipment for parks and playgrounds, or computers and software for their offices. Police, fire and EMS services also received a significant portion of the money.

The law said local officials needed to report how they planned to use the money by the end of 2024, though projects to be funded with the money can stretch until the end of 2026.

RELATED STORY: Here's how Lancaster county, city and Providence Twp. used their ARPA funds

A look at the final allocations now that the Dec. 31 deadline has passed found one municipality shifted money because officials were concerned the project it was intended for wouldn’t be completed by the end of 2026.

East Hempfield Township originally designated $2.49 million of its $2.59 million total ARPA allotment to partially fund a project to widen a 1.5 mile stretch of Centerville Road to five lanes.

Township Manager Cindy Schweitzer said officials decided to apply that money to the township’s payroll instead. Money for the Centerville Road project, projected to cost $36.3 million, will instead come from the township’s general fund. Schweitzer said the work is anticipated to finish in September 2025.

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The break down

The graphics below show how Lancaster County’s municipalities decided to spend all of their ARPA funds. Hover over the graphic to read popups about each government’s spending plans. Click on your municipality’s name to find more detailed information about expenses. For mobile app users, go to lanc.news/LancMunicipalityARPASpending.

The costs are sorted into broad spending categories. The data comes from the county’s 59 townships and boroughs, excluding Lancaster city, which got $39.5 million from the federal government directly instead of through the state. Likewise, the county government received $160 million from ARPA, some of which it gave to local governments to support their projects.

How every municipality used its funds: $150 million

Click to jump to each category:

  • General government expenses: $17,209,744.68
  • Stormwater and water infrastructure
  • Public safety
  • Recreation
  • Streets infrastructure
  • Environment
  • Digital upgrades
  • Community donations
  • Housing and education

General government expenses: $17,209,744.68

Costs include municipal building repairs, equipment purchases, employee payroll and revenue replacement.

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Stormwater and water infrastructure: $11,960,107

Costs include stormwater management and compliance, sewer and water line equipment, and municipal authority payments for future projects.

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Public safety: $10,126,973.18

Costs include compensation for police, donations to volunteer fire and EMS departments, and new equipment.

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Recreation: $4,917,598.84

Costs include upgrades and new equipment for public parks and recreational spaces.

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Streets infrastructure: $4,812,446.98

Costs include repairs and upgrades to municipal roads, bridges and sidewalks.

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Environment: $988,741.95

Costs include stream restorations and eco-friendly farmland practices.

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Digital upgrades: $488,564.26

Costs include municipal meeting room upgrades to accommodate virtual meetings, information technology system updates and new equipment.

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Community donations: $400,418.17

Costs include contributions to local libraries, nonprofits and organizations.

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Housing: $240,000

Lancaster Township is the only municipality, aside from the city, to invest ARPA funds toward housing initiatives. The money will fund home repairs for low- to moderate-income homeowners. Residents can apply to receive a match up to $2,500.

Education: $52,000

Manor Township is the only municipality to put funding toward education. The money will support the Penn Manor Education Foundation to fund two annual $1,000 scholarships for graduating seniors studying agriculture or policing.

LNP | LancasterOnline reporter Nate Willison contributed reporting.

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Email the Lancaster Watchdog at watchdog@lnpnews.com or go to lancasteronline.com/watchdog and tell us about it. You can also send mail to Lancaster Watchdog at P.O. Box 1328, Lancaster, PA 17608-1328.

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