Group of Fiscally Responsible Citizens Sparks Vote to Shut Down ARPA Funding for Kane County Health Department Building

A Special Kane County Board meeting convened on Wednesday, March 27, to deliberate on allocating State and Local Fiscal Recovery funds for constructing a new Health Department facility. The proposed project, initially pegged at $38.8 million, was eventually trimmed to $31 million after an assessment of available funding. Concerned Citizens attending multiple KC Board meetings raised a number of issues that may have impacted the final decision.

The vagueness of the project’s costs and exclusion of ancillary expenses were of concern. Office equipment, staffing, insurance, landscaping, and technology infrastructure—essential components for a functioning facility—were conspicuously excluded from the initial estimate, raising red flags about the actual financial burden to taxpayers.

The bulk of the proposed funding, $18 million, was slated to be sourced from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds allocated to Kane County after the COVID-19 pandemic. However, utilizing ARPA funds has strict federal guidelines governing their expenditure, making it necessary for recipients to adhere meticulously to the stipulations set forth by the Federal Government.

To mitigate the risks associated with potential non-compliance, Kane County enlisted the services of Ernst & Young LLP to conduct a comprehensive risk assessment. Their findings suggested that Kane County could be required to refund the Treasury Department the $18M after constructing the Health Department building if any deviation from federal guidelines.

Also concerning, recent revelations about the underutilization of the current Health Department facilities have sparked outrage. During a town hall meeting, Kane County Executive Director Michael Isaacson disclosed that the existing Aurora-based facility and satellite offices in Aurora and Elgin serve a mere 600 clients annually. Such statistics beg the question: is a multi-million dollar investment justified for such a seemingly modest demand?

Ultimately, the proposal to allocate ARPA funds for the construction of the new Health Department facility was overwhelmingly rejected by the KC Board.

Votes by Board members included twenty “NO” votes, one “YES” vote (Myrna Molina) and three abstentions (Allan, Tarver, Tepe) DSG