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Another bad look for Iowa . . .

torbee

HR King
Gold Member
Scott County used as an example of bad ARPA spending in a national publication geared toward county and municipal government for earmarking ARPA funds to build a jail for children.


Whether Covid funds can be used on building or expanding prisons and jails appears to have even caused some confusion within the Treasury Department itself, ACLU notes in its letter.

The Inspector General said Scott County, Iowa could use $7.25 million in ARPA funds to expand a juvenile detention center. But initially, A.J. Altemus, acting counsel for Treasury’s IG Office, told The Nation that the money couldn’t be used for the detention center. “General government services” funds cannot be used for jails, Altemus wrote in an email to the Nation, adding: “Capital expenditure restrictions apply" to the use of funding for lost revenue.

However, the ACLU’s letter noted that the department subsequently walked back the quote to the Quad-City Times in September, saying the aid could be used for the detention center because of the flexibility governments have to put the dollars toward “general government services” as part of eligible revenue replacement spending.

 
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