By Beacon Staff
During their regular meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 18, the DMC Board of Supervisors voted unanimously in favor of a motion that would use the majority of the $7.5 million of ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act of 2021) funds for debt services for the county.
Supervisor Tom Broeker said putting that money toward debt wasn’t possible until a rule change issued by the U.S. Treasury earlier this month. The treasury has simplified the program for small localities seeking revenue recapture.
The board set aside $355,000 of the ARPA money for Danville Telecom’s expansion of broadband internet in the county, which it previously committed to by assisting in grant funding for the project.
Broeker said putting the money toward debt will take care of other items, such as a new record management system for the county and a new phone system.
“Every dollar we save, the taxpayer saves money. And that’s what this (ARPA) was for,” DMC Supervisor Jim Cary said.
In other news, Des Moines County Public Health Administrator Christa Poggemiller says the county has the highest COVID-19 positivity rate she’s seen since last year. Poggemiller reported that the county has a positivity rate of 22 percent of those tested, which equals 239 cases.
The only number she can recall that was higher for the county was 25 percent, which was sometime last year.
“Twenty-two percent. That’s not good,” Des Moines County Supervisor Jim Cary said.
Poggemiller said it is important to note that the positivity rate (which is provided by the state) is directly related to the number of tests. She pointed out that Lee County actually has 241 new cases of COVID-19, but due to higher testing, their positivity rate is only 15 percent.
She believes the numbers will come down in Des Moines County based on the reduced number of test kits that are being requested.
“I hope we are at the end of this spike,” Poggemiller said.