SULLIVAN'S SALVOS
March 6, 2024
Sullivan’s Salvos 3/7/24
In this edition:
*RIP Ann Christenson
*American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA)
*Iowa City Charter Review Commission
*Did You Know?
*RIP Ann Christenson
I was sorry to hear of the passing of Ann Christenson of Iowa City. Ann and her husband John have long been favorites of mine. And Ann led quite a life!
She was a UI grad who left for New York City and worked at Time Magazine. She worked in Sierra Leone and Australia. And while they settled in Iowa City, they continued to travel the world.
In 2012, Ann cofounded 100 Grannies, an organization fighting for environmental improvements in Johnson County. The Grannies pushed governments and businesses to make many positive changes over the years, and Ann was always at the forefront.
I will miss this wonderful activist and friend. RIP, Ann.
*American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA)
I am long overdue in reminding Johnson County residents about the incredible gift of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). As you may or may not recall, ARPA was the Biden Administration response to COVID-19. States, counties, and cities had suffered incredible financial losses as a result of COVID. The federal government needed to step up, and did so in a big way.
ARPA passed the US House of Representatives and US Senate with ZERO Republican votes. President Biden signed it into law, and the money showed up in the accounts of states, counties, and cities. You should note that Marianette Miller Meeks and other members of Congress show up at ribbon cuttings for projects funded by ARPA, but she voted against it. Meanwhile, rather than using Iowa’s share to feed poor children, Kim Reynolds has paid to send Iowa State Troopers to the Texas border.
ARPA dollars were linked to population, and Johnson County received just under $29,400,000 in ARPA funding. Please note – that is just the share that went to Johnson County government. Iowa City, Coralville, North Liberty, and every other city in Johnson County received their own population-based allocations. Never before has so much federal money flowed to local governments.
The $29.4 million has some strings attached. It cannot be used for tax cuts. (Biden knew what Reynolds would do!) Uses need to address the impacts of COVID. It also must be spent by the end of 2025. I will be talking about Johnson County’s ARPA projects; please note that some of the projects are underway, while others are still in the late stages of the planning process.
So how has Johnson County spent $29.4 million? Like this:
Poverty reduction: (About $5 million) $2 million in Direct Assistance to folks who did not receive other COVID assistance. $1.8 million increase in our General Assistance funding, and $250,000 in additional staffing. $135,000 toward combatting wage theft. $200,000 toward the Veggie Connect food program.
Affordable Housing: (About $2 million) $900,000 for low-income home repairs. $1.5 million in affordable housing. $500,000 toward our Eviction Diversion Program.
Childcare: $2 million in several different childcare pilot projects.
Support for nonprofits: $2.1 million in grants.
Transportation: $750,000 to a couple different transportation pilot projects.
Infrastructure: $5.5 million for improvements to HVAC and other systems in county buildings. Includes ADA related improvements.
Conservation: $2.2 million for improvements at Kent Park.
Local Foods: (About $1.6 million.) $750,000 in grants for local food producers to increase capacity. $800,000 for a community kitchen at the Historic Poor Farm.
Public Health: $750,000 for staff and a vehicle.
Information Technology: $500,000 in tech improvements.
Public Safety: (About $1.8 million total) $750,000 in ankle bracelets, software, and staff to allow for monitoring prisoners without holding them in jail. $300,000 to youth development and juvenile justice prevention programs.
Minority populations: (About $1.3 million total) $800,000 in an apprenticeship program. $500,000 in support of minority-owned businesses.
Administration: Johnson County is allowed to spend a very necessary $564,000 of the money to administer all these various projects.
That is how Johnson County spent $29.4 million in one-time money. Those numbers are all approximate. I left off a smattering of small projects. The total does not quite add up to $29.4 million, but you get the idea.
As you might imagine, this process was difficult. It is kind of wild; you never had this money before. So one might think it would be easy to allocate. But ask any person who has won a significant sum in the lottery – you are suddenly inundated with good causes.
I believe this points out how difficult the State of Iowa has made it for local governments. Iowa does not help anyone, so Johnson County tries to step in. But we simply do not have the resources to do everything the public needs, let alone wants.
I will be the first to admit that we took a bit of a “Christmas tree” approach, with something for everyone. But frankly, that is what we do! Johnson County has a couple dozen departments, who are involved in literally hundreds of efforts to improve life in Johnson County. Although it was challenging, I am quite proud of the way in which we handled the ARPA money.
There is a very good chance that some of these projects will be over or under budget. We still have some ability to move money around, but that window is closing. One of our primary goals is to spend it all by the deadline; any unspent ARPA money must be returned to the US Treasury.
Again, I am proud of how we are spending this money, and very thankful that President Joe Biden stepped up to help the American people!
*Iowa City Charter Review Commission
Iowa City is one of four Iowa cities governed by a Home Rule Charter. (The others are Clinton, Fort Dodge, and Marion.) On Nov. 15, 1973, Iowa City voters chose to be governed by a Home Rule Charter, and the first Charter was adopted on Jan. 2, 1976.
The Charter is reviewed every ten years, always in a year ending in 4. The City forms a Charter Review Commission to make recommendations regarding any changes, but technically, the decisions are up to the City Council. (There is also a public petition option, but I want to keep this explanation simple.)
The Council has appointed Commissions in ’84, ’94, ’04, ’14, and ’24. I applied to serve on the Commission in ’94, ’04, ’14, and ’24. I just learned that I was rejected for the fourth time. That MAY tie a record; the late Caroline Dieterle was rejected in ’84, ’94, ’04, and ’14. I’m sure that had she lived a few more months, she would have been rejected a fifth time. I take some consolation in being in Caroline’s company here; she always spoke truth to power! On the positive side, my friend John Deeth had been rejected three times; he broke through on his fourth attempt.
There really aren’t many people in this community who have put more time and effort into Iowa City Council elections than I have. One is former Iowa City Mayor John Balmer, who was appointed to this Commission and has served on other Commissions previously. While many of my efforts and John’s have been at cross purposes over the years, he is an excellent choice for the Commission. He cares deeply about Iowa City, and has great knowledge and experience.
I had a couple of Councilors ask me why I wanted to serve, which I really appreciate. I told them this:
Why did I want to serve on this Commission? Because I love Iowa City! I have been fighting Iowa City political battles since the 1980s. The first Council campaign I worked on was Joe Bolkcom for Council in 1989. (Thank God he lost that race!) For 35 or 36 years, I have been working – pretty much every damned day – to make Iowa City a better place to live.
In addition, while I do not check any demographic boxes for the Council, I have real, concrete ideas as to how the Charter can be improved. (I will write about those in a future edition of Salvos.)
Finally, the people of Iowa City trust me. They have voted for me overwhelmingly on ten different occasions. I have earned over 275,000 votes from Iowa City residents. (Not countywide, mind you – just residents of IC.) Iowa City Mayor Bruce Teague, by comparison, has earned less than 10,000 votes. I think the public would trust me to serve. And honestly, I don’t think they could find 5, let alone 8, people who are more qualified.
Am I a little bitter? Yes, I am. I helped most of those Councilors to win their seats. I have worked my tail off to help create the progressive city in which we now reside. The progressive city in which they could be elected. I have forgotten more about Iowa City than most people know. But I also knew that this decision would be extremely political. And it was.
The conservative councils of yesteryear were never going to appoint me. But I think my efforts over 35+ years have finally gotten us to a place where John Deeth can get appointed. I can take some solace in that. And I have faith that the appointed Commission (and hopefully the IC Council) will listen to what I have to say on the topic.
So, next week’s Salvos will not contain additional whining. It WILL contain my suggestions for improving the Iowa City Charter. And RIP, Caroline Dieterle! I promise to give them Hell for you at least once during this process!
*DID YOU KNOW? President Joe Biden signed the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), the latest federal stimulus bill to aid public health and economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, on March 11, 2021.
Anyone interested in learning more about County government should take a look at the County website-
"Sullivan’s Salvos" is sent once per week to any interested party. It will give a brief update on issues of interest to Johnson County residents.
These messages come solely from Rod Sullivan, and neither represents the viewpoints of the whole Board of Supervisors nor those of groups or individuals otherwise mentioned.
If you do NOT want the weekly E-mail, simply reply to this message, and type "unsubscribe" in the subject line.
If you know anyone else who might be interested, just forward this message. They can E-mail me at rodsullivan29@gmail.com with "subscribe" in the subject line.
As always, feel free to contact me at 354-7199 or rodsullivan29@gmail.com. I look forward to serving you!
---Rod
posted by Rod Sullivan @ 8:12 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home