Spending pandemic money | News, Sports, Jobs

A Ward County activity power will likely be growing a plan for spending federal pandemic {dollars} to current to the county fee by the top of February 2022.

Ward County can have about $13 million to spend from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), and a portion is eligible to be shared with cities and different native authorities entities that have already got been presenting their requests. The duty power will likely be creating an utility course of that’s anticipated to open subsequent spring.

Carpio, Berthold, Sawyer and Makoti have already got requested a 75% county value share on water and sewer tasks.

Carpio is changing its failing mechanical wastewater system with a lagoon at a price of $2.29 million and in addition has a $1.83 million sewer rehabilitation mission. Berthold is proposing a sewer rehabilitation mission below its Principal Road for $2.6 million.

Makoti is pursuing a $800,000 mission to line and lengthen the lifetime of sewer pipes. Sawyer has two blocks of sewer and water pipes that want changing for $1.Three million.

On Tuesday, the Ward County Fee additionally heard from the Rice Lake Leisure Service District about assist with the $91,000 value for upgrading the sewer system.

The fee is holding off on taking formal functions till it is aware of extra concerning the {dollars} accessible and the federal guidelines on how they are often spent.

In response to a county information launch, the duty power is reviewing steerage from the U.S. Treasury on eligible spending objects in addition to creating the mission utility course of and calculating the county’s misplaced income for 2021. It’s the misplaced income portion that may be spent on inner wants or outdoors requests.

Ward County has calculated its misplaced income in 2020 as a result of pandemic at $3.68 million, however it received’t have lost-revenue calculations for 2021 till early subsequent yr.

Up to now, the county has obtained greater than $6 million, which it’s holding in financial savings till selections are made.

The fee voted to have particular person commissioners and division heads put together concepts for utilizing ARPA funds to fulfill wants inside county authorities. Amongst concepts which have been raised embrace extra funding for the bookmobile, contracting attorneys to deal with the backlog within the State’s Legal professional’s workplace, putting in touchless water bottle filling stations in county buildings, stepping up cybersecurity, buying laptop software program updates, erecting tax cost and absentee poll drop packing containers and replenishing freeway division stock.

Commissioner John Pietsch supported a delay in looking for outdoors functions till the county decides how a lot cash it should spend after assembly its personal wants.

“We hate to have folks put in functions with the anticipation that we’ve obtained large quantities of cash right here. And we’d like a greater deal with on how a lot cash we might truly need to contribute in direction of these forms of tasks,” he mentioned.

“Basically, the county departments come first,” Commissioner Howard “Bucky” Anderson mentioned. “Our COVID losses are going to return earlier than any requests from outdoors county authorities.”

Nonetheless, Pietsch mentioned the function of the duty power is to compile the wants of the county and outdoors entities however the fee should set the priorities.

“It isn’t to say that the county essentially comes first and we’re going to succeed in in and take as many {dollars} as we probably can, after which depart these outlying areas restricted with funds as a result of we’ve raided the cookie jar,” he mentioned.