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Commissioners clash over plan to use ARPA funds for $2-per-hour retention pay; manager’s legal defense and resignation threat punctuate debate
Summary
Macon County commissioners debated a proposal to use remaining ARPA/SLFRF funds to provide $2-per-hour retention pay through Oct. 2024. The proposal prompted a heated exchange between Commissioner Shearl and County Manager Derek Roland over legality and fund use, with calls for accounting and a requested report in December.
The Macon County Board of Commissioners spent a large portion of its Nov. 14 meeting debating whether to use remaining American Rescue Plan Act/State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds to pay employees a $2-per-hour retention payment through Oct. 20, 2024.
County Manager Derek Roland told the board the county’s ARPA allocation totals $6,964,996 and presented a Grant Project Ordinance that would transfer $1,850,659 to county operating funds to cover salaries and fringes under the revenue-replacement category. Roland framed the payments as a recruiting and retention measure that would be paid as lump sums after each six-month period and noted the policy had limits and reporting controls.
"We need to 'stick with the plan' and use the funding for…
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