Lansford Borough Council exhausted the last of its COVID relief funds as the close of 2024 approaches.

The borough needed to allocate or commit the remaining American Rescue Plan Act funding by the end of the year, or risk losing it.

Council actually slightly over-allocated the funds, due to bill payments after additional expenditures were discussed, changing the total available, Lacey Gonzalez, who handles the borough’s budget, said.

Council needs to reduce its COVID relief fund allocations by $1,764, after shifting payments for a sewer project from the relief funds to its sewer maintenance fund, she said.

Council had two purchases planned for approval on its agenda — an additional security camera for the borough building at a cost of $1,200, and tactical vests for its police officers at a cost of $3,710.48.

The cost of the camera for the front of the borough building actually came in lower than anticipated at $906, Councilwoman Michele Bartek said, bringing its potential overage down to roughly $1,400.

Gonzalez cautioned council on pulling funds for the tactical vests from unspent areas of the police budget, such as training, because they are bound by the terms of a union contract. Some unspent funds, such as those designated for uniforms, can be carried over year to year through the contract terms, she said.

Gonzalez suggested council consider seeking a grant for the vests for the part-time officers, or allocating any additional funds over the COVID-relief dollars from the Local Services Tax funds.

“We’re talking about $1,400 … for bulletproof vests,” Council President Bruce Markovich said. “I think, by all means, we should not skimp on this. We shouldn’t wait. If we have the money in LST that we can move, let’s move that.”

That shift pays for the expenditures and allows for all the COVID funds to be spent, Gonzalez said. The borough won’t have to return any of the relief money, she said.

Council approved both the security camera for the borough building at a cost of $906, and the purchase of the five tactical vests for the police at a cost of $3,710.48.