FAYETTEVILLE -- Washington County still has more than $7 million in emergency rental assistance funds to disburse, justices of the peace were told Monday.
Sam Duncan, justice of the peace for District 7 in Fayetteville and chairman of the County Services Committee, said Monday the county has received about $9.3 million in federal emergency rental assistance funds so far and expects to receive another $2.2 million next year.
Duncan said the county initially asked the Fayetteville Housing Authority and the Springdale Housing Authority to help distribute the funds, allotting each entity $1.5 million.
Duncan said the Fayetteville Housing Authority has disbursed all of the $1.5 million it was allotted while the Springdale Housing Authority has disbursed about $500,000.
Duncan said the county has set up a portal on the county website to help distribute the remaining funds. As of Aug. 23, he said, the county had received 585 applications. Of those, he said, 83 have been approved and about $102,000 in rental assistance has been paid out.
Duncan said 252 applications were missing one or more the items required to document the applicants income and their rental expenses. Another 44 were submitted with none of the required documentation. Duncan said those whose applications were denied because of insufficient documentation can reapply with the necessary items.
Benton County will distribute federal funds through the Excellerate Foundation to provide relief to those who have been financially impacted by covid-19, according to a county news release.
The county received $8.3 million for the first round of the rental assistance program in February that can be distributed for assistance until Dec. 31. That funding was made available to county residents in February. Hark at Excellerate Foundation has worked with eligible households to connect them to federal dollars and other resources. The first round of the rental assistance program has helped 1,130 clients and committed $5.2 million in rental and utility assistance, according to the release.
Also Monday, the justices of the peace forwarded to the Quorum Court's Finance and Budget Committee an ordinance spending $256,000 from the county's $23 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds for work on a new sewer system for the Homestead subdivision in unincorporated Washington County.
Jim Wilson, justice of the peace for District 14, said the system originally installed for the 80 homes is failing and sewage from the system spills into two nearby creeks which flow into the West Fork of the White River and then into Beaver Lake. The residents asked the county for help with engineering and design work and land acquisition. The total cost of the project was estimated at about $2.2 million.
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Rental assistance money
The American Rescue Plan Act, enacted March 11, provided $21.6 billion for an additional round of the U.S. Treasury Department’s Emergency Rental Assistance Program. The assistance was established in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021. The money is funneled through state and local governments to eligible residents.
Source: Staff report