LETTER TO THE EDITOR: County announces special commission meeting

To the Editor:

The Lee Board of County Commissioners will hold a special meeting at 10 a.m. Friday, May 26, at the Old Courthouse, 2120 Main St., Fort Myers. The purpose of the meeting is to reallocate American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding for eligible projects.

 Similar actions are being taken by local governments across the country in response to federal debt ceiling negotiations underway in Washington, D.C. News reports indicate a high likelihood that unspent ARPA funds will be clawed back by the U.S. Treasury as part of a debt ceiling deal.

 Although all ARPA funds have been programmed for community benefit according to program rules, some of the planned projects are still in progress. The County proposes to use some of the remaining ARPA funds for eligible public safety expenditures to preserve budget capacity to provide previously planned services.

 The meeting agenda will be posted soon at www.leegov.com/bocc/meetings. The meeting will be viewable on LeeTV,  www.leegov.com and Facebook live at www.facebook.com/leecountyflbocc.

Betsy Clayton, APR/CPRC

Communications Director

Lee County Government