EDWARDSVILLE — With a federal spending deadline approaching, Madison County is moving toward completion of infrastructure and other projects funded through more than $52 million in American Rescue Plan Act resources allocated to benefit taxpayers across the county.
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County Board Chairman Chris Slusser said county leaders focused on putting the one-time
funding toward long-term needs while saving local taxpayers millions in costs.
“We had an opportunity to make major infrastructure investments and pay for them without asking local taxpayers to take on decades of debt,” Slusser said. “Instead of communities having to issue bonds and pay those costs back over 15, 20 or 30 years, ARPA allowed us to partner with them and put money directly into projects that needed to get done.”
Madison County received its first ARPA payment in May 2021 after Congress approved the federal recovery program in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The county’s original federal award totaled $51,078,063 and arrived in two installments.
With interest and other adjustments, the county’s ARPA resources grew to more than $52 million.
The county directed the money into five broad areas: water and sewer infrastructure, stormwater and flood mitigation, public safety, economic recovery and government modernization.
Water and sewer funding supported improvements to systems serving residents throughout the
county, including major infrastructure as well as assistance to smaller water systems with limited resources for costly upgrades.
Stormwater and flood mitigation dollars went to municipalities and drainage districts throughout Madison County to address flooding, drainage and other longstanding needs.
Public safety investments include the countywide STARCOM emergency communications system, backup generators, improvements at the Juvenile Detention Center and Madison County Jail, and equipment and vehicles for local fire protection districts.
The county also partnered with local taxing districts and public entities. In all, 57 subrecipients received ARPA funding, allowing the dollars to address needs beyond county government.
“For some of our smaller taxing districts, these are investments they simply don’t have the resources to make on their own,” Slusser said. “This funding gave us an opportunity to help them make improvements that directly benefit the people they serve.”
The county also directed money toward economic recovery. Government modernization included voting equipment, GIS modernization, digitization of county records and other improvements to county operations and services.
County Board members helped identify needs within the communities they represent, bringing proposals forward for consideration as the county determined how to allocate the federal dollars.
The federal government required ARPA funds to be obligated by Dec. 31, 2024. The deadline to expend those funds is Dec. 31.
As of Sept. 11, 2026, Madison County spent nearly $43.8 million of its original federal ARPA award, leaving more than $7.3 million to be spent. The county’s ARPA consultant, Ernst &
Young, helps track project spending and ensure compliance with federal requirements as county officials work to complete the remaining projects ahead of the 2026 deadline.
Slusser said the benefits will continue long after the federal program ends.
“We didn’t want to spend money just for the sake of spending it,” Slusser said. “We wanted to put it into infrastructure and essential services that communities need. These investments will continue benefiting Madison County taxpayers long after the ARPA program ends.”
This is the first in a series examining Madison County’s ARPA investments and how the funding is benefiting communities throughout the county.
This is the first in a series examining Madison County’s ARPA investments and how the funding is benefiting communities throughout the county.
