American Rescue Plan Act shortchanged village
Orland Park wants state to cover alleged shortfall in federal COVID-19 stimulus money
Orland Park officials are looking to the state to cover what officials say is a shortfall in what they should have received in federal COVID-19 stimulus funds.
The Village Board approved a resolution Monday contending the formula the federal government used to disburse municipal funds from the American Rescue Plan Act shortchanged the village.
Orland Park is getting a bit more than $5 million to help cover lost revenue due to the pandemic. It received an initial payment of $2.5 million early last month.
Officials contend the figure should be closer to $8 million, and asked the state to make up the difference through its own pool of federal stimulus money.
“Congress has put a value on the worth of our citizens,” Mayor Keith Pekau said.
Cities and villages were allocated funds on a per capita basis, with $136 a head as the standard. However, factors such as poverty levels, overcrowding of housing and housing conditions were also considered, meaning some communities saw received more than $136 per resident.
Better-off Chicago suburbs, such as Orland Park, Arlington Heights, Naperville and Schaumburg, saw lower per capita amounts. Orland Park received $86.59 per person, and based on the $136 figure would have received $7.8 million, officials said.
Chicago Heights, for example, is receiving $13.6 million, or a per capita rate of just under $466. It’s funding level would have been $4 million based on the $136 amount, according to Orland Park documents. Tinley Park is receiving $6.2 million, or a per capita rate of just under $112.
Pekau said Orland Park and other communities that have been fiscally responsible are being punished, and that more funding is going “to cities that have not managed themselves well.”
Anticipating a drain on village coffers because of the pandemic, Orland Park cut jobs and reduced operating expenses, but “didn’t hit the panic” button with implementing drastic measures, Pekau said.
“For the most part we operated as normal,” he said.
The village estimated $8.7 million in reduced revenue. The federal funds can be used to cover revenue shortfalls due to the pandemic, but can’t be used to pay off debt or make pension fund payments, according to the U.S. Treasury Department.
Recipients are being encourage to use the money to improve health care and educational opportunities, and invest in public infrastructure such as sewer and water projects.
Orland Park is setting aside its money to make improvements to four village parks.
A master redevelopment plan is in the works for Centennial and the adjacent Centennial West, along with Schussler Park and the John Humphrey Complex near Village Hall.
New playgrounds to accommodate children with disabilities are being studied, along with new ball fields with artificial turf and a potential marina at Centennial’s Lake Sedgwick, according to preliminary plans. None of the federal money has yet been spent on the work.