Westmoreland's plan for $105 million in covid relief funds remains elusive

Nearly a year after Westmore­land County received the first half of its $105 million corona­virus relief fund allocation, there is still no consensus on how that money should be spent.

Commissioners said Monday that internal discussions are continuing in an effort to craft a comprehensive blueprint to use the funds. And, while there is some general agreement on potential targets for funding, a broad-based plan with specific spending amounts remains elusive.

“We each have our priorities, and we’re working through those priorities,” said Commissioner Gina Cerilli Thrasher.

County officials have spent some of the funds, including more than $1 million toward bonuses and raises for staff who worked throughout the pandemic and computer and technology upgrades. Another $7 million was earmarked to demolish and rebuild the courthouse’s underground parking garage, which engineers this year found to be unsafe and at risk of collapse.

Commissioners last year promised a full-scale spending plan would be complete in early 2022 after two public hearings were conducted last fall to collect community input to determine priorities for the money.

As mid-April approaches, no formal plan has been unveiled.

“We’re not going to spend it quickly. We are being careful with our money. We’re not handing out blank checks,” Thrasher said.

She said the county is waiting for proposals from human service providers and other agencies that include specific and detailed uses for the American Rescue Plan funds.

Commissioner Sean Kertes said six weeks ago he pitched Thrasher and Commissioner Doug Chew a plan that includes funding for county mental health services, small business grants, a sweeping effort to remove blight, redevelopment projects, installation of broadband in rural areas, funding for water and sewer projects, expansion of food bank services and an increase in the number of beds for homeless residents in area shelters.

Kertes also proposed a program that would make down payments for residents who purchase formerly blighted properties.

Final dollar amounts for those allocations are yet to be determined, he said.

“Hopefully, we can come to a conclusion sooner rather than later,” Kertes said.

Thrasher said she is not prepared to release her priorities for the American Rescue Plan funds.

“The last time I did that, everyone attacked me. When it’s done, it’s done,” she said. “A lot of us have a lot of the same ideas. I think all three of us, for the most part, agree. It’s just putting the correct amount for each section. There’s nothing the three of us don’t agree on.”

Chew conceded no firm agreements have been reached about how to spend the funds.

“I don’t have anything different than from my colleagues. We have things we are very interested in,” Chew said, declining to release specifics for his proposals.

Meghan McCandless, the county’s finance director, said more than $50 million of the original covid relief allocation remains in the bank. The county’s second allocation, expected to be more than $52 million, is scheduled to arrive in May, she said.

The county is required to have a comprehensive spending plan for the money by the end of 2024. All funds are required to be spent by the end 2026.