THE REPUBLICAN COMMISSIONERS’ BIG SPENDING SECRET

 

Republican Commissioners Nick Sherman and Electra Janis like to boast about the projects they have initiated since taking over county government in January, 2024. What they fail to explain is that the funding for their spending binge came from Congressional legislation designed to save local governments from economic collapse following the pandemic, sponsored by the Democratic Party. These funds permitted our Republican Commissioners to spend like drunken sailors without raising taxes or plunging the county into debt.  

The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) was a $1.9 trillion economic stimulus Bill passed by Congress, and signed by then President Biden, without a single Republican vote. The funding included $7.9 billion for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Of this amount, $4.95 billion was allocated for the largest cities and the 67 counties. The remainder was divided among Pennsylvania’s smaller municipalities.

Our Republican Commissioners following the lead of elected Republicans across America, shamelessly took credit for this windfall of assistance their party fought to defeat. Regrettably, there has been incomplete local accounting on how the money was spent.

Washington County was awarded the enormous sum of $98.9 million in ARPA funding. When interviewed by SPOTLIGHT PA, a Pennsylvania official commented, “We’ve never come into this amount of money in one large sum. The simple reporting requirements and flexibility to use the funding made the aid more meaningful.”

The objectives of the ARPA were to supplement lost revenue caused by COVID-19 shutdowns, to reimburse public entities for health and safety services, to assist local businesses, and to address infrastructure needs.

The most significant funding stream in the ARPA was for “revenue replacement.”  There were few restrictions on how funds earmarked for this category could be spent. Recipients had the option to classify $10 million of their allocation in this way or to use a more complicated formula to calculate lost revenue. Washington County chose the second option and with the help of a consultant was able to earmark $57 million under the category of revenue replacement. The majority Republican Commissioners had a great deal of discretion on how the revenue replacement funds were spent down. Unfortunately, there was no public input and minimal transparency on the allocation of these funds.

According to Washington County’s most recent federal ARPA report, filed in the first quarter of 2025, diverse projects were initiated using the allotted funds. These included the broadband project to bring fast/inexpensive internet service to rural county residents; local hospital assistance; courtroom renovations; public document scanning; and court case management software. It is impossible to determine from the report how many questionable hidden expenditures for items like expensive county rental cars and new management positions were funded using the “revenue replacement” funds.

The ARPA expenditure that has gained the most notoriety was the initial $9 million in ARPA funds dedicated to upgrade the county’s emergency communications system.  As reported by the Observer-Reporter, “The radio system has been a divisive topic for nearly two years. The previous county board of commissioners, led by then chairwoman Diana Irey Vaughan, awarded a $22.545 million contract to MRA Inc. in March of 2023.  Maggi sided with Irey Vaughan to approve that contract, while Sherman voted against it since he favored a [more expensive] proposal from Motorola.”

“Vaughan retired in January [2024] and was replaced on the board by Janis, who voted with Sherman to terminate the MRA contract. Sherman and Janis then voted to select Motorola’s proposals despite the county having already spent $8.5 million on equipment as it began working to install the MRA system last year.”

The new Motorola contract remains cloaked in secrecy and controversy. It is not known whether the original contract expenditures will be recouped, what the final cost of the project will be, or whether the federal treasury will claw back funds because of the Republican commissioner’s duplication of a valid contract.

In my research for this commentary, I came across an excellent report released by the Center for Coalfield Justice. It was titled The ARPA and Local Municipalities and called for “Washington community members to be involved in decision-making when deciding how these funds would be used.” This call for transparency and public involvement received little attention from the current administration.

Other municipalities, across America, provided their citizens with up-to-date ARPA information. For example, Kalamazoo County, Michigan maintained a “ARPA dashboard” accessible to the public. It itemized total appropriations, obligations, and expenditures. Six strategic priorities were identified with frequent award updates.

Greensboro, N.C. maintained a website that provided comprehensive public information about how it deployed its ARPA allocation. The municipality started with three strategic recovery priorities and a status tracker.

It is never too late for Sherman and Janis to live up to their campaign pledges of transparency when it comes to county deployment of almost $100 million in ARPA funds. While most of the proceeds have been spent or earmarked, Washington’s citizens have a right to know the details.  An acknowledgement of former President Biden and the Democratic Party’s role, in providing the federal funds for the local Republican spending spree would also be in order.

Lastly, the public deserves an update on how Sherman and Janis plan on financing their upcoming projects, like demolition of Court House Square and the building of a new public safety building. Now that the gravy train has left the station, where will the money come from?