Board reallocates ARPA funds toward housing trust and transitional housing projects

Oakland County commissioners on June 3 approved a plan to reallocate underspent American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) local fiscal recovery funds into timely housing investments, county staff said.

Sarah Gold of Strategic Partnerships and Initiatives described the near-final spenddown of the county’s ARPA program and presented a reallocation package that moves roughly $1.6 million (identified in the meeting materials) to the Housing Trust Fund to support projects with immediate ability to expend dollars before the federal deadlines.

Housing staff said one priority is transitional housing for youth aging out of foster care, in partnership with Samaritas. Kyle Hines and housing staff said they are identifying sites—typically single-family residences with five to six bedrooms supervised by Samaritas—and that zoning and site-selection work is underway. "We will have to move extremely quickly because a lot of the units and properties that we're looking at are available on the open market," a staffer said.

Commissioners emphasized equitable placement and cautioned against clustering transitional facilities in any single community; staff said they intend to consider sites across the county and to coordinate licensing and services with state partners. The reallocation motion passed on a unanimous vote recorded during the session.

What happens next: Housing staff will continue site selection with Samaritas, seek any required licenses or approvals, and deploy funds according to housing-trust-fund priorities and Treasury guidance.