County receives LATCF update following interfund loan repayment
In 2024 Nye County authorized a temporary interfund loan of $5.78 million from its Local Assistance and Tribal Consistency Fund (LATCF) grant to the county general fund and with that loan now repaid, it was a good time for an update on the status of the grant fund as a whole.
Nye County Contracts and Grants Manager Stephani Elliott provided a presentation on the LATCF during the Nye County Commission’s Tuesday, March 18 meeting. She began with a briefing on the background of the grant program, which was authorized by the U.S. Treasury in 2022 as part of the American Rescue Plan. By June 2023, the county had received its entire $12 million allocation and has earmarked roughly half for various projects. The $5.78 million that has recently been repaid to the LATCF grant fund now awaits the decision of the Nye County Commission on how it will be spent.
As to any potential time limit, Elliott said there is no deadline attached to the LATCF funding. But with President Donald Trump shaking up the grants’ scene, it may be a good idea to act on allocating the remaining funds sooner rather than later.
“The word of caution is, we have a new federal administration that is looking at items of this nature. We have already received this funding so at this point, there are doubts that it could be requested back,” Elliott noted. “However, I am required to do an annual update and report to the U.S. Treasury indicating how much we’ve obligated as well as spent. So, I would say, anything right now with the word ‘grant’ is on the table. But for the moment, we do not have an actual expiration date.”
“In real-world terms, I am aware of grants that have been reversed,” commission chair Ron Boskovich chimed in.
Elliott replied that one benefit of the LATCF program is that the grant allocation is not on a reimbursement basis, as many other grants are.
“We’ve got the money in the bank. That’s the good news,” she stated.
Due to the reference to Native American tribes in the title of the funding program, there has been some confusion among the community as to why the county was not giving a portion of its $12 million to tribes located within its boundaries. Elliott clarified that the LATCF consists of two distinct parts, one for revenue-sharing counties and another for tribal nations, which were able to apply for the grant funding on their own behalf.
“This was our piece of it and I am aware that one of our local tribes did receive LATCF funding,” Elliott said.
When originally addressing potential project submissions for utilizing the money, the county saw more than $34 million in funding requests, far in excess of the amount available. Using a ranking system and personal preference as a guide, the Nye County Commission ultimately selected projects ranging from catching up on deferred facilities maintenance and upgrading the county’s public safety communications microwave system to new vehicle purchases, seed money for a new county facilities management key system and a small allotment for Beatty’s Revert Park. These totaled around $6.2 million of the total $12 million in LATCF dollars.
Since the project selections were made, Elliott said there have been a few adjustments made due to a deadline associated with another of the county’s grant sources, its American Rescue Plan dollars.
“We had $3.2 million allocated to the public safety upgrade and we ended up reallocating those funds to the ARPA budget,” Elliott detailed. “We had existing contracts, we were properly able to allocate the funding, so that Nye County was not at risk of losing that funding. What we have in response to that is, $2.73 million of originally funded ARPA projects that are now being funded through the LATCF funding… We have now added [to the LATCF projects] the community/civics center at $2.4 million and the Tonopah Childcare Development has been added for $300,000.”
Of the $6.2 million allocated, about $2 million has been spent to date, leaving $4.2 million in funds awaiting expenditure.
Nye County officials told the Pahrump Valley Times that a date has not yet been set for commissioners to determine which projects will be chosen for funding through the remaining $5.78 million.
To view the LATCF presentation in full, visit NyeCountyNV.gov and click on “Meeting Center”. The presentation is included as part of item #9 on the commission’s Tuesday, March 18 agenda.
Contact reporter Robin Hebrock at rhebrock@pvtimes.com
