Excluded essential workers and other local residents filled the Washington City Council Chambers Tuesday to request the city use its unspent American Rescue Plan Act funds for direct financial assistance.
Escucha Mi Voz Washington gave a letter to the council asking that they distribute $1,400 checks to each Washington resident that was excluded from federal pandemic relief. The letter states that based on the U.S. Census an estimated 140 excluded workers live in Washington city limits, amounting to over $200,000 needed. The city has around $300,000 left to allocate from the approximate $1.08 million in ARPA funds that they have so far used on water and sewer infrastructure, and law enforcement video equipment upgrades. Eleven people spoke in support at the council meeting, including resident Dan Henderson, “It’s the right thing to do because trickle up economics works, trickle down economics does not work. When you give people money at the bottom of the rung they spend it in the local community. That will benefit everyone, every store in this town, and every business will benefit from it.”
Many of the speakers shared how they’ve had to work nonstop during the pandemic in sectors of meatpacking and other agriculture businesses, health care, and manufacturing. The discussion was not listed on the council’s agenda, but Council Member and Johnson County Public Health Director Danielle Pettit-Majewski spoke in support, “Our immigrant community was really, really impacted by COVID, much more disproportionately than the rest of our community, without a lot of resources and [I] often felt very helpless to figure out ways that I could help them besides just bringing them food. So I do think that there is value because they generate a lot of value to our community. And a lot of things that make our day-to-day lives work is because of these people in our community.”
ARPA funds must be spent by the end of 2024, and eligible uses include premium way for essential workers, and assistance to households who saw negative economic impacts of COVID-19. Escucha Mi Voz Washington mentioned that they intend to also speak to the Washington County Board of Supervisors.
Read the letter below: