What happened to the $10 million dollars then-President Biden gave to Kerr County Texas?

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JustTheFacts! @JustTheFacts_68
Man on man, the hits just keep on coming for the incompetent Kerr County officials.

In 2021, The Biden administration gave Kerr County $10 million dollars in federal funds from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). These funds were allocated for various recovery efforts, including infrastructure improvements and disaster preparedness, including upgrading the county’s flood warning system.

JustTheFacts! @JustTheFacts_68
Turns out they didn't want that "socialist money", but instead of returning it, they used a majority of the funds upgrading the Sheriff's department for operational expenses, equipment, or other law enforcement needs.

I wonder what would turn up if there was an audit of how those funds were spent.

...Grok:

In 2021, Kerr County, Texas, received approximately $10 million in federal funds from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), administered by the Biden administration. These funds were intended for various recovery efforts, including infrastructure improvements and disaster preparedness, which could have included upgrading the county’s flood warning system, a critical need in the flood-prone region known as Flash Flood Alley.

However, Kerr County officials and residents expressed skepticism about accepting the funds, with some at a 2021 county commission meeting calling them "socialist money" or expressing distrust toward the Biden administration, citing concerns about federal overreach or attached strings.

Despite these reservations, the county did not return the funds, as some residents feared they would be redirected to "blue states." Instead, the county retained the money and allocated a significant portion to the Kerr County Sheriff’s Department for operational expenses, equipment, or other law enforcement needs, rather than investing in a modern flood warning system, such as river gauges or sirens, which had been discussed after previous flooding events.

This decision drew criticism following catastrophic flooding along the Guadalupe River in July 2025, which killed at least 75 people in Kerr County. The county’s outdated flood warning infrastructure, lacking real-time monitoring or sirens, was cited as a factor that may have hindered timely evacuations. Posts on X and news reports, including from The New York Times, highlighted public frustration, noting that the ARPA funds could have been used to modernize the warning system but were instead diverted. For example, a Reddit thread referenced in a Tumblr post detailed the 2021 commission discussions, showing a mix of ideological resistance and budgetary caution among officials and residents.

Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly and other officials defended their actions, stating that local resistance to new spending and the high cost of a warning system (estimated at $1 million in a failed 2017 grant application) were barriers. They also argued that the rapid onset of the 2025 flood might have limited the effectiveness of any warning system. However, critics, including former county commissioner Tom Moser, argued that the funds’ misallocation reflected missed opportunities to enhance disaster preparedness.

The exact breakdown of how the $10 million was spent remains unclear from available sources, beyond the significant allocation to the sheriff’s department. No official county budget or audit detailing the full expenditure was cited in the provided references.

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