Jefferson County supervisors discuss applying for federal grant

FAIRFIELD — The Jefferson County Board of Supervisors discussed the prospect of receiving $3.5 million from the federal government during the board’s meeting Monday.

The money is part of the American Rescue Plan that Congress passed in March. To obtain the grant money, the applicant would need to submit personal information including a photo ID.

Supervisor Dee Sandquist said Jefferson County Auditor Scott Reneker objected to that portion of the requirement.

Reneker was absent from Monday’s meeting, though in a phone call with the Union, Reneker said there’s no reason his office needed to be involved in the grant application since it wasn’t going to have authority over the funds anyway.

He suggested that the applicant be the authority over the money, which would be a member of the Board of Supervisors.

Reneker also said there is plenty of time to apply for the funds, and that it would take one to two years for the county to get the money.

“There are gobs of time,” he said.

During Monday’s meeting, the supervisors talked as though Reneker’s misgivings about the facial recognition software were an impediment to receiving the grant money, and that the application for the funds would need to be submitted soon. For instance, they discussed giving the responsibility for the grant to another county office.

“It’s a lot of money for the county,” said Supervisor Susie Drish. “We need to make sure we get this money.”

Supervisor Daryn Hamilton said the county should find other ways to get the grant money.

“The only stumbling block is someone doesn’t want to be part of facial recognition software in a particular office,” Hamilton said.

Hamilton likened the case to a job applicant who was interested in a position, but when told he would have to wear a mask for the interview, said he was no longer interested in the job.

“Those are personal choices, but in this case, one person making a personal choice, when it affects the entire county and dollars that could help us when we need it, seems absolutely absurd as far as I’m concerned,” Hamilton said.

Jefferson County Attorney Chauncey Moulding said the acceptance of federal dollars is not an enforceable duty of the auditor. He recommended talking it over with Reneker and to designate a second office as administrator of the grant application.

Reneker told the Union he was perfectly fine with another department taking on this responsibility.

Sandquist said the supervisors will discuss the matter when the board meets again at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday.