With Crisis Center Vetoed, County Looks to Spend Federal Funds

By Holly Crocco

With the proposed Putnam County mental health crisis stabilization center that was planned for Stoneleigh Avenue having been voted down by the Carmel Planning Board earlier this month, the County Legislature is now scrambling to spend $2.5 million in American Recovery Plan Act funds that were tied to the project so that it doesn’t have to be returned to the federal government.

“At this point, with the ARPA deadlines, the money has to be spent by the end of this year,” explained Putnam Finance Commissioner Bill Carlin at the Legislature’s Feb. 11 Health Committee meeting. “So it’s not going to be feasible to get another location, unfortunately.”

Instead, he said the county needs to pivot to find an avenue to spend those funds.

Before any money can be reallocated, the county needs to “close out” its agreement with People USA, which is the organization it partnered with the plan the crisis center. According to Carlin, People USA is owed money because it proceeded in this project with the county, in good faith, and is due reimbursement costs.

“And some day there may be a center, but it won’t be now, and it won’t be with ARPA funds,” he said.

Once that contract is terminated, the county can focus on redirecting the ARPA funding.

“Unfortunately, the reallocation process this far down the path of ARPA means our choices are very limited,” said Carlin. “We can only use it on projects that were already approved and incumbered, and not closed out.”

This means the county cannot come up with a new public health project.

“We will come to the Legislature probably next month… with a reallocation plan which likely will involve infrastructure, because that’s the place that is going to be the most secure that will follow the law and allow us to achieve our primary goal, which is to spend all the ARPA funding,” said Carlin. “We do not want to return any funds to the federal government. We want to use it to the benefit of the taxpayers of Putnam County.”

It is possible that repurposing ARPA funds may free up other county resources and allow the county to move its own money around to then be spent on public health.

Legislator Nancy Montgomery, D-Philipstown, chairwoman of the Health Committee, suggested that perhaps there is time to find another site for a much-needed crisis center.

“We identified a need for public health, for mental health, when ARPA funds were being allocated, and we led the public to believe that we were going to spend $2.5 million on public health and now we’re being told that we’re going to spend it on infrastructure when we have a $74 million fund balance that we could use,” she said. “I know of sites that are ready to go right now in my district.”

Carlin explained that, due to federal guidelines surrounding the ARPA funding, it has to be used on something that is already in the works – not something new – and the county doesn’t have any other public health initiatives in the pipeline.

“We’re limited on where we can spend it,” he said.

Montgomery disagreed, saying there are sites that wouldn’t have to go through the planning board process to house a crisis center.

“It’s still on the table, as far as I’m concerned – and I’ve got a great space in Philipstown,” she said. “I’m sure that they’d be happy to use the $2.5 million to help people in need, which is what they do, but they weren’t even considered… I would love to see the language that says it has to be used for an open ARPA project. I can’t imagine them saying ‘don’t use it on public health, don’t use it on mental health,’ with the crisis we’re seeing. Maybe there’s an appeal.”

Carlin said it’s doubtful, but he will look into it.

Legislator Dan Birmingham, R-Southeast, said it’s important that the Legislature is part of the conversation going forward – not just brought in to make a final vote.

“I wouldn’t want to see the ARPA funds be spent on something we’ve already set aside money for, and now we’re just going to use it so to substitute,” he said. “Yes, I get that we don’t want to give money back to the federal government… (but) for me, step one is still focusing it on public health.”

Legislator Erin Crowley, R-Mahopac, said the county may need to get creative with how it shuffles its budget lines around.

“We all just don’t want the money to go unused, so we have to either find a project to use the ARPA money for, and then if we all want to continue to see it used toward another mental health facility or stabilization center, backfill it,” she said.

Carlin agreed.

“Nobody is saying that mental health services aren’t important – they’re vital,” he said. “What I’m saying is, it likely won’t be with ARPA funding. It’s too restrictive, we’re too far down the road.”