pay about $45,000 in ARPA ….
pay about $45,000 in ARPA funds to the district.
“It would be like a credit voucher, and the Central Fire would write a check back to your municipality,” Oehmichen said.
The offer is reserved for townships because the cities of Abbotsford and Colby and the village of Dorchester can use their ARPA money on water and sewer projects instead.
One of the ways in which ARPA funds can be spent is on wages used when “responding to the COVID-19 public health emergency.” Based on his conversation with district chief Joe Mueller, Oehmichen said not more than 20 percent of EMS wages were spent on dealing with COVID-related calls.
Oehmichen read a rule making it clear that ARPA funds can be transferred to any non-profit organization that “performs specific functions in the community” such as firefighting.
“So, you can see that we perfectly fit in for that example,” he said.
To comply with federal reporting standards, Oehmichen said the district will have to come with a one-page starting that the ARPA fund will only be used for COVID-related wages and other qualified expenses.
The towns will be expected to submit annual reports by April 30, 2022, to the U.S. Treasury stating what they used their ARPA funds on through March 31 of next year.
Oehmichen told the township representatives that they might as well start spending their ARPA funds right away, since the April 30 report is due whether the money is spent or not.
“The guy at the towns association said ‘Larry, the government does not want this money back. Spend that money,’” he said. “I said ‘will do.’” Oehmichen also noted that audits will only be required of municipal governments that spend over $750,000.
“We ain’t going to touch that, so don’t worry about an audit,” he said.
The townships have until Dec. 31, 2024, to spend the ARPA funds, after that, they are required to keep records of their expenditures for another five years after the money is spent.
Town of Holton Pat Tischendorf said his township will be using about a third of its ARPA funds for “revenue loss” compensation, which will amount to about $13,000.
“That leaves us with about $31,000,” he said.
Other business
_ The board renewed the district’s insurance policy though the MacGillis Insurance Group, with an increase of $591, from $15,818 to $16,409.
_ The board approved the purchase of a 360-degree camera for the new fire engine that will allow the engine operator to see all sides of the engine while operating the pump. The purchase was set at no more than $5,000. Mueller noted that firefighters themselves would be paying for new graphics and designs on the new truck.
_ Mueller said he would like to start looking at purchasing a used rescue truck, which would be used to replace an old engine rescue vehicle and an old ambulance that is used as a rescue. With the arrival of a new engine next year, Mueller said the district could get rid of three trucks and replace them with two.
“That would be one less vehicle that we’d have to pump test,” he said referring to the engine rescue vehicle that would no longer be needed.
_ Mueller said he’s gotten some bids from Colby Chrysler for replacing the district’s command vehicle, but he’s still waiting on bids from other dealerships before formally presenting proposals to the board.
_ The board observed a moment of silence for Dennis Engel, board of Mayville representative who passed away after last month’s meeting.
Mueller said the 866 calls the district has responded to as of last month is an all-time record for the district. “We’ve never done that many,” he said.
