Riley County Approves $1.2M in 2026 Capital Projects

County to use ARPA funds to help cover costs of equipment, facility upgrades

Mar. 30, 2026 at 11:38pm

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A serene, painterly scene of a county government building in warm sunlight, conveying the quiet civic work of maintaining public services.Riley County taps federal pandemic relief funds to finance essential capital projects, maintaining critical public infrastructure.Riley Today

Riley County commissioners have finalized the county's 2026 capital improvement plan, approving $1.2 million in equipment purchases and facility upgrades. The county plans to tap into its American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to help cover the costs, with an estimated $600,000 needed from those funds.

Why it matters

The CIP projects approved by the county commissioners will help maintain and upgrade critical infrastructure and public services in Riley County. The use of ARPA funds demonstrates how local governments are leveraging federal pandemic relief dollars to address capital needs.

The details

The $1.2 million in CIP projects include equipment purchases as well as renovations to the county's emergency management facilities in Keats and the EMS headquarters. Budget and finance officer Brittany Phillips noted that the county still has about $40,000 left to pay on the EMS headquarters project.

  • The Riley County commissioners finalized the 2026 CIP projects on Monday, March 30, 2026.

The players

Brittany Phillips

The budget and finance officer for Riley County who provided details on the CIP projects and ARPA funding.

Riley County Commissioners

The governing body of Riley County, Kansas that approved the 2026 capital improvement plan.

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What they’re saying

“I'm showing right now that we're going to need to use a little over $600,000 of the CARES (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act) funds — we still have emergency management renovation going on in Keats. I do have an estimate on the EMS headquarters that we have probably one more bill to pay, about $40,000 but I included that in that $600,000 total.”

— Brittany Phillips, Budget and Finance Officer

The takeaway

Riley County is leveraging federal pandemic relief funds to help cover the costs of critical capital projects, demonstrating how local governments are using ARPA and other stimulus dollars to maintain and upgrade public infrastructure and services.