Henry County officials meet for American Rescue Plan

The Henry County Board of Supervisors invited council members and administrators of cities in the county to discuss the American Rescue Plan on Wednesday. Of the 10 cities in Henry County, only Hillsboro, Coppock, and Wayland did not have representatives.

“We wanted to have a brainstorming session and to give people what little information we know about the American Rescue Plan,” Supervisor Marc Lindeen said. “That being said, is there something that we as a county could work together on? Are there regional projects that we could invest in, like child care, mental health programs or broadband?”

Though the meeting did not end with any definite answers to how the American Rescue Plan funds will be spent for Henry County and its cities, the meeting succeeded in getting the ball rolling and getting the known information out.

The American Rescue Plan is a $1.88 trillion bill passed by the U.S. Senate on March 6. The bill is meant to provide targeted funding toward various sections affected by the pandemic, including the governments of counties and rural cities. Each city and county will be allotted funds based on population, but the exact numbers have not been released yet.

“We don’t have a lot of information or rulings from the IRS as to where specifically the funds are coming from,” Supervisor Greg Moeller said. “It’s our understanding that we will receive approximately half of our funds within 60 days of the enactment of the law, which was March 11. Then one year after those funds are received, we’ll receive the other half. The funds have to be spent by Dec. 31, 2024.”

The American Rescue Plan bill has yet to release the specific requirements for how the funds can be spent. This is causing hesitancy in how the Board of Supervisors and the cities administrators can move forward with planning the fund allocations.

“Everyone is kind of in the same boat. We’re waiting for those really specific guidance,” Mike Norris of Southeast Iowa Regional Planning said. “All that we know is in the bill, and who knows what’s going on behind the scenes really.”

Henry County Engineer Jake Hotchkiss was in attendance, and he mentioned the importance of being cautious in spending the federal money.

“I would definitely caution spending any of that money early,” he said. “Make sure that you understand that typically, more paperwork is what the government usually requests. They want accountability and you to show how every dollar was spent, so if you’re not following whatever the federal procedures are, that’s all subject to being pulled.”

Lindeen said the meeting accomplished its purpose.

“They seem to appreciate the meeting,” he said. “We accomplished what we set out to do, and that was to have a meeting to begin the discussion about what to do for the American Rescue Plan.”