There is absolutely no "end of year" return issue with returning funds to the feds which would be triggered by any "end of year" federal deadline, that fairy tale about would appear to be complete horsecrap, as the Federal fiscal year ends on September 30, not on December 31.

Any construction funding issues or match issues that might trigger any "return" of federal monies is horsecrap too, since that date is a deadline, after which, if your funds have "lapsed" you cannot legally expend lapsed funds. The feds actually "reimburse, for expenditures of funds already made on the project, mimue the match requirement (except in the bizarre case of the claims that FRA allowed ChSRA to "waive" match, which is not authorized by Congress, and would be clearly illegal in most cases when using Federal highway and transit funds).

You only have to "return" funds you misspent, based upon project audits and violations of things like contracting procedures (I been witness to an agency that spent nearly a million dollars with sole source contracting, where feds withheld payment of future funds, to get the improperly expended funds back).

Who is putting out this t line of highly dubious "return" federal funds "deadline" horscrap? I've seen federal funds expended on project construction, but the project was not yet ready to open, and they didn't open it until it was tested and ready, and it had no effect on the construction funds already legally expended for the purposed intended.