The Valparaiso City Council has approved the first round of American Rescue Plan spending. The bulk of the $750,000 appropriation will cover premium pay for city employees who worked during the COVID-19 pandemic.
But Council Member Robert Cotton had a number of concerns, including the fact that he wasn't given a list of specific dollar amounts for each individual employee and that those who worked for the city during the height of the pandemic but have since left aren't included. "I'm a bit concerned that we're being asked to vote on this prior to seeing the metric for who, how, what and when these dollars and these people were selected to receive this money," Cotton told the rest of the council Monday.
Clerk-Treasurer Holly Taylor explained that police and firefighters will typically get $3,000 each, while other employees will get either $1,000 or $2,000 at the discretion of their department head. The Clerk-Treasurer's Office does have a complete list of premium pay recipients and dollar amounts.
The appropriation approved Monday also includes $25,000 each for the police and fire departments that could be used for building maintenance — and $25,000 to pay a consultant to help with compliance matters related to the disbursement of American Rescue Plan funds to nonprofit groups.
