To enhance accountability and transparency of your federal tax dollars, we are pleased to provide this page detailing the federal funding to Porter County government through the American Rescue Plan Act and the CARES Act. This page will continue to be updated as needed, so please visit this page again. (Please note: This page details only the funding for county government, not to cities, towns and other units that may have received federal COVID assistance).

                                                       American Rescue Plan Act

The $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) was signed into law by President Biden on March 11, 2021. Among its many other provisions, the Act established the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund, which provided $350 billion to states, local and Tribal governments across the country to support their response and recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. Of this, the law includes $65.1 billion to county governments with the allocations based on population. Porter County government will receive $33 million. Porter County has received its first half, with the other half anticipated in 2022. The funds must be obligated by the end of 2024 and projects completed by the end of 2026.

Porter County's ARPA Project Plan

On Feb. 22, 2022, the Porter County Commissioners approved an updated plan for approximately $4 million of Porter County's SLFRF revenues. Also on Feb. 22, the Porter County Council approved the following appropriations toward the updated plan:

Also approved on Feb. 22 were a Steering Committee and four subcommittees to review and recommend proposals for additional use of the county's SLFRF funds. The Commissioners and Council both made their initial appointments, as follows:

Steering Committee: Commissioner Laura Blaney; Council members Jeremy Rivas and Andy Bozak; Chair -- Auditor Vicki Urbanik (non-voting); Attorney Scott McClure (non-voting advisory)

Behavioral Health and Social Services Subcommittee: Commissioner Jim Biggs; Council members Mike Brickner and Greg Simms; Citizen appointees Robyn Lane (Commissioners) and Mitch Peters (Council); Non-voting advisory: Portage Township Trustee Brendan Clancy, Center Township Trustee Jesse Harper, Union Township Trustee George Topoll, Porter Township Trustee Edward Morales.

Non-profits and Employers Subcommittee: Commissioner Jim Biggs; Council members Mike Brickner and Erik Wagner; Citizen Appointees Ruth Vance (Commissioners) and Rebecca Tomerlin (Council).

Infrastructure and Facilities Subcommittee: Commissioner Jeff Good; Council members Sylvia Graham and Mike Jessen; Citizen appointees James Hazzard (Commissioners) and Curtiss Streitelmeier (Council); Non-voting advisory: County Engineer Mike Novotney  

County Government COVID Health Response: Commissioner Laura Blaney; Council members Sylvia Graham and Mike Jessen; citizen appointees Patrice Mullen (Commissioners) and Karen Nelson (Council); Non-voting advisory: County HR Director Rhonda Young and Nursing Supervisor Connie Rudd.

For more information about the subcommittees and Steering Committee and the funding proposals submitted, please see the main page of the county government website: www.porterco.org

ARPA Resources

For more information about the American Rescue Plan Act, please see the "ARPA Resources and Updates" tab or click here.

Porter County ARPA Timeline

For more information about the timeline of activities affecting Porter County's ARPA revenues, see the "Porter County ARPA Timeline" page or click here.

Tracking Expenditures and Compliance

For more information about the Porter County Auditor's Office internal control procedures for tracking and reporting Porter County's ARPA expenditures, please see the "Tracking Porter County's ARPA Spending" page or click here.

                                                                                       CARES Act

The $2.2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act ("CARES Act") was signed into law on March 27, 2020. Among its many other provisions, the Act provided $338.9 billion in aid to state and local governments. Porter County government has been the recipient of six CARES Act grants. 

Below is a summary of each grant program listed by the largest to smallest grant revenues received.  

Coronavirus Relief Fund

• Federal agency: Treasury 
• State agency: Indiana Finance Authority
• Total awarded to Porter County government: $5.5 million
• Status: Ended                                                                                                                                                         

Of the $2.6 billion awarded to Indiana through the CARES Act, the state allocated $300 million to local government units through the Coronavirus Relief Fund (CRF), administered through the Indiana Finance Authority (IFA). Each county, city and town in Indiana was eligible for COVID-related reimbursements based on population. Units had the ability to award part of their allocations to other units of local government, such as libraries.

The allocation to Porter County totaled $8.7 million; of this, county government was eligible for up to $5.5 million. County departments paid for unforeseen and unbudgeted COVID expenditures, then we in the Auditor's Office reviewed the claims for eligibility, prepared the claims forms for approval by the County Commissioners, and then submitted the claims for reimbursement. In late September, 2020, the state encouraged units to take an alternate approach by submitting public health and public safety payroll costs for reimbursement, as allowed by the CARES Act.

The pie chart here shows the categories of COVID expenditures made by Porter County departments. As shown, the compliance category made up the largest expenditure type. These projects included the purchase of fever readers for county buildings, telework equipment for county employees, and enhanced wi-fi services. Once their expenditures were reimbursed, county departments were able to use their budgets for other qualified expenditures. If departments were not able to use their "restored" appropriation by year's end, the reimbursement helped to shore up the funds' cash balance for future use.

The largest COVID expenditures ($10,000 or more per department) are delineated below. For a more detailed list, see the link under "Additional Information" below. 

By far, most of the reimbursement Porter County government received from the Coronavirus Relief Fund consisted of public safety and public health payroll costs. Counties and municipalities were able to recover certain eligible payroll costs from March through the end of September. The State Board of Accounts allowed units to receipt all or a portion of their payroll reimbursements in their general funds, allowing units more flexibility over the future use of the grant money. For Porter County, the payroll reimbursement totaled $4,952,843, broken down as follows: 

Additional information:

For a detailed listing of all Coronavirus Relief Fund reimbursements received by Porter County government on a per-department basis, click here.

For a variety of information about Indiana's Coronavirus Relief Fund, visit the Indiana Finance Authority's website  here.

To see the CRF allocations for each county and municipality in Indiana, click on the following IFA document: Allocations grouped by county

Safety Awareness Coronavirus Relief Fund

• Federal agency: Treasury
• State agency: Indiana Finance Authority
• Total awarded: $550,227
• Status: Ended

Administered by the IFA, this grant program became available to Indiana counties, cities, and towns in late 2020. This program was designed to enhance public awareness about COVID regulations. Governmental units were eligible for reimbursement totaling 10% of their total Coronavirus Relief Fund allocations (see above). Like the CRF program, payroll expenditures were eligible for reimbursement if they were associated with safety awareness programs. The Porter County Health Department has two safety awareness projects: 1) a public awareness campaign consisting of radio and digital advertising and 2) a monitoring program consisting of event monitors who enforce compliance with local and state COVID regulations at events and establishments. The funding received was deposited in the Health Department fund for future needs.

ISDH Test Site grant

• Federal agency: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/Treasury
• State agency: Indiana Department of Health
• Total awarded (as of February, 2021): $260,480
• Total grant: $320,960
• Status: Active

The Porter County Health Department is the recipient of this grant, which funds two COVID sites, one in Valparaiso and one in Portage. The sites opened in the fall of 2020 and are expected to continue operating through spring, 2021. The grant initially was awarded for $200,000 for testing only. The Health Department in 2021 received an amendment for an additional $120,960 for its COVID vaccination program. The additional grant revenue will be distributed in three phases. The health department pays payroll expenditures directly out of this fund for the operation of the two clinics.

Secretary of State's Election Expenditure Grant

• Federal agency:  Treasury
• State agency: Secretary of State
• Total awarded to Porter County government: $128,737.80
• Status: Ended

The Indiana Secretary of State's office reimbursed counties for additional costs incurred in both the primary and general elections of 2020. Submitted by the Porter County Clerk, this grant reimbursed the county's general fund for items including PPE and shields for election workers and additional postage costs related to the increase in mail-in ballots.

Indiana Criminal Justice Institute grant 

• Federal agency: Department of Justice
• State agency: ICJI
• Total awarded (as of Jan., 2022): $193,770
• Total eligible $380,376.93.
• Status: Active

This grant, awarded through the ICJI's Coronavirus Emergency Supplemental Funding, is a multi-agency agreement between Porter County and several municipal police agencies. The grant reimburses COVID-related costs for personnel, equipment, supplies and other categories. The grant consists of four reporting periods, with program reports required each quarter. (Updates pending)

Indiana Arts Commission Memorial Opera House grant

• Federal agency: Treasury
• State agency: Indiana Arts Commission
• Total awarded to Porter County government: $28,637.05
• Status: Ended

Initially approved for $26,033.68, the recipient of this grant, the Memorial Opera House, received a second round of funding for an additional $2,603.37. Per the grant agreement, the grant revenues were used to reimburse the MOH fund for salary costs incurred during the year. MOH is a self-supported county venue that raises its revenues through ticket sales, rentals, and other revenues. The MOH sustained significant funding losses because of its closure due to COVID-19.