Primary Department: County Administration
Primary Department Head/Elected Official: Erica Lee Carter
Secondary Department: Choose an item.
Secondary Department Head/Elected Official:
Regular or Supplemental RCA: Regular RCA
Type of Request: Financial Authorization
Project ID (if applicable): FLEX_INTADMIN
Vendor/Entity Legal Name (if applicable): N/A
MWBE Contracted Goal (if applicable): N/AN/A
MWBE Current Participation (if applicable): N/A
Justification for 0% MWBE Participation Goal: N/A - Goal not applicable to request
Grant Indirect Costs Rate (if applicable): N/A
Justification for 0% Grant Indirect Costs Rate (if applicable): N/A - Not a grant item
Request Summary (Agenda Caption):
title
Request by the Office of County Administration for approval of one-time retention pay for the American Rescue Plan Act Portfolio Management Team (ARPA PMO) to encourage retention through two critical milestones, including the U.S. Treasury expenditure deadline and position end-dates, with no impact on the General Fund.
end
Background and Discussion:
OCA is requesting to implement a retention-pay schedule for ARPA PMO team members totaling up to $90,000.00 at critical expenditure and closeout milestones to help mitigate federal compliance and audit risks, with no impact on the General Fund. Utilizing FLEX Fund 1040, one-time retention pay would be distributed to ARPA PMO staff who remain in their roles through two critical milestones:
• The ARPA expenditure deadline of December 2026.
• Position end-dates in March (one employee), June (seven employees), and December 2027 (three employees).
Retention pay will help encourage team members to stay in their current roles through the expenditure deadline and their respective position end-dates. The estimated total for the retention pay is up to $90,000, recognizing that some attrition is likely to occur.
The ARPA PMO maintains the institutional knowledge necessary to ensure the $915.5M in ARPA State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLRF) are spent in alignment with federal compliance requirements and deadlines. For the programs supported by the $915.5M in ARPA SLRF, Harris County must abide by U.S. Treasury guidelines to ensure audit-readiness for five years following the December 31, 2026, expenditure deadline.
In addition to meeting the expenditure deadline, the ARPA PMO will need to complete 50 close-out items for each of the 160+ projects to ensure proper document retention and audit-readiness. Retaining the term-limited, grant-funded ARPA PMO Team will be critical to ensure the 160+ projects in the ARPA Portfolio receive proper close-out to meet federal audit standards.
The ARPA PMO has been able to stabilize and reduce administration and compliance costs-even as the compliance close-out demands have increased in scope-by prioritizing internal FTEs over 3rd party support and re-procuring consulting services in 2024.
Expected Impact:
By implementing a retention-pay schedule for ARPA PMO team members, Harris County will mitigate federal compliance and audit risks associated with the $915.5M ARPA portfolio, with no impact on the General Fund.
Alternative Options:
Any ARPA PMO attrition will reduce the level of support, compliance, and technical assistance OCA can deliver through the December 2026 expenditure deadline and the closeout of 160+ programs, while likely increasing OCA’s reliance on external consultants at a higher cost.
County Strategic Plan Goal: 1. Make Harris County safer and more just.
County Strategic Plan Goal: 2. Connect our community with safe, reliable, equitably distributed, and well-maintained infrastructure.
County Strategic Plan Goal: 3. Make our economy more inclusive.
County Strategic Plan Goal: 4. Improve physical and mental health outcomes across all communities.
County Strategic Plan Goal: 6. Help residents achieve housing stability.
County Strategic Plan Objective: Choose an item.
Justice/Safety Initiative (Goal 1): B4: Increase the jail deflection and diversion rate.
Infrastructure Initiative (Goal 2): I2: Formally adopt Imagination Zones as a preferred development approach within the County that improves connectivity to green space.
Economy Initiative (Goal 3): K2: Partner with community organizations to create new and build upon existing apprenticeship opportunities,
Health Initiative (Goal 4): P2: Expand lead reduction program to reduce child exposure.
Climate/Resilience Initiative (Goal 5): Choose an item.
Housing Initiative (Goal 6): W2: Increase stock of permanent supportive housing.
Additional notes related to the Strategic Plan: This request supports several of the Strategic Plan Goals associated with specific ARPA projects being funded, as well as the Guiding Principle of Investing Responsibly.
Prior Court Action (if any):
|
Date |
Agenda Item # |
Action Taken |
|
3/30/2021 |
367 |
Approval of the process, accountability mechanisms, and priorities for the spending of Harris County Coronavirus Local Fiscal Recovery Funds |
|
5/18/2021 |
5 |
Request for approval of two ARPA positions |
|
6/8/2021 |
7 |
Acceptance of initial Local Fiscal Recovery Funds |
|
2/22/2022 |
13 |
Approval of two ARPA PMO positions |
|
11/15/2022 |
9 |
Transfer of one position to OMB |
|
6/6/2023 |
12 |
Approval of three ARPA PMO positions |
|
6/6/2023 |
14 |
Approval to transfer two Behavioral Health positions from HCPH to OCA |
|
4/23/2024 |
19 |
Approval of four ARPA PMO positions |
|
4/23/2024 |
20 |
Approval to extend six ARPA PMO positions |
|
6/25/2024 |
10 |
Approval to extend one ARPA PMO position |
|
6/25/2024 |
9 |
Approval to extend two ARPA Behavioral Health positions |
|
12/10/2024 |
7 |
Approval to update the funding source of ten positions from ARPA to FLEX |
Location:
Address (if applicable):
Precinct(s): Countywide
|
Fiscal and Personnel Summary |
|
Service Name |
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Current Fiscal Year Cost |
Annual Fiscal Cost |
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Labor |
Non-Labor |
Total |
Recurring Expenses |
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Funding Sources |
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Existing Budget |
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|
1040 - FLEX Fund |
$90,000 |
$ |
$90,000 |
$ |
|
Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
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Total Existing Budget |
$90,000 |
$ |
$90,000 |
$ |
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Additional Budget Request (Requires Fiscal Review Request Form) |
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|
Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
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Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
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Total Additional Budget Request |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
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Total Funding Sources |
$90,000 |
$ |
$90,000 |
$ |
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Grants - Proposed Budget (For Grants Items only) |
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Labor |
Non-Labor |
Total |
No. of Grant Years |
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Local Match Source - Existing Budget: Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
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Local Match Source - Additional Budget Request: Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
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Grant Funds Applied for/Awarded (Total) |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
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Personnel (Fill out section only if requesting new Position Control Numbers (PCN)s) |
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Current Position Count for Service |
- |
- |
- |
- |
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Additional Positions Request |
- |
- |
- |
- |
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Total Personnel |
- |
- |
- |
- |
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County Attorney’s Office Legal Review (for Harris County Code Items only) |
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CAO Reviewer Name and Title |
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CAO Review Completion Date |
Click or tap to enter a date. |
Anticipated Court Date: 10/15/2026
Anticipated Implementation Date (if different from Court date): 12/31/2026
Emergency/Disaster Recovery Note: ARPA related item
Contact(s) name, title, department: County Administrator Erica Lee Carter, Office of County Administration; Tom Hargis, Director, Grants & Partnerships, Office of County Administration
Attachments (if applicable): N/A