HERMANN — The nearly-$3 million of federal economic recovery money allocated to Gasconade County  government might turn out to be a windfall for the county’s coffers after all.

The final ruling by federal officials in recent days on the use of the money grants county government more flexibility in how the funds can be used. So much so that counties can claim up to $10 million of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) money for revenue loss — even though the local governments don’t have to show an actual loss.

In Gasconade County’s case, that amounts to $2.8 million, half of which the county already has in the bank; the other $1.4 million is scheduled to arrive in May.

For the most part, many Missouri counties, including Gasconade County, have been sitting on the money, awaiting more-detailed guidance on its use. Of the eight counties within the Meramec Region, only a couple have moved to allocate their ARPA funds.

Kelly Sink of the Meramec Regional Planning Commission (MRPC) is administering the eight counties’ ARPA money. In an interview Friday afternoon with the Gasconade County Republican, Sink said the recently issued final guidance means the various county commissions might have to return to the drawing table to decide what to do with the money — that is, continue with plans to distribute it to outside agencies for specific projects or keep it for their own counties’ use, such as on roads and bridges or other infrastructure projects.

The Gasconade County Commission initially approved three areas of use of the money: Addressing negative economic impacts caused by the coronavirus pandemic, including economic harm to workers, housesholds, small businesses, industries and the public sector; replacing lost public sector revenue as a result of the pandemic; and investing in water, sewer and broadband infrastructure.

The Commission put out a call for applications for up to $50,000 each in ARPA funds with emphasis during the first round of funding on projects proposed by small businesses. Sink told the Republican there are about a half-dozen applications from Gasconade County awaiting processing by the regional planning agency. She said that as the April 1 deadline nears, she expects more applications to arrive.

Sink said that in light of the final federal guidance, the County Commission might need to decide whether to continue with its application process in handing out the money or keep the funds for county government use. Another option might be to do a little of both: Fund the applications received during the first installment of ARPA money and designate the second half for county government use.

There are at least two public works projects being proposed as candidates for a share of ARPA dollars — an upgrade of wastewater treatment by Public Water Supply District 1, which serves the Peaceful Valley community, and a water system project planned by the city of Bland.

In an effort to help county government administrators better understand their options regarding the funds, Sink said MRPC Executive Director Bonnie Prigge is working to schedule a meeting of various local government officials and Travis Elliott, attorney for the Missouri Association of Counties. Sink said such a meeting might be held within the next couple weeks, depending on all the participants’ schedules.

Meanwhile, Gasconade County’s financial footing remains strong as its General Revenue Fund sales tax continues to perform well. Consumers maintained their spending into the new year, outpacing the level of activity of a year ago.

As reported by County Treasurer Mike Feagan, the county’s February sales tax reimbursement check from the state was for $82,324, more than $3,000 above the amount received in February 2021. The February amount, the largest amount received in February in the past six year, comes on the heels of a January payment of $106,177, which is $26,000 more than was received in January of last year.

The February check pushes the two-month total to $188,501, $28,708 more than was received in the first two months of 2021, the second consecutive record-setting year for the county’s sales tax, which totaled $1,122,373.

The second bit of good economic news delivered by Feagan was that online shopping continued to be strong as the new year began. The county’s use tax — the sales tax as applied to purchases made from out-of-state vendors — check for February was $13,321. January’s amount was for $11,214. The two-month total of $24,536 is bolstered by $9,401 received in December.

The use tax of 1.325 cents is split between county government and the county’s Enhanced-911 program. Feagan said that while the county received $13,321 the E-911 program received about $5,000.