Tuesday night, Erie County Council, again, voted to table American Rescue Plan Act GAP. The money could be used to invest in things such as water, sewer, and broadband infrastructure. The 4-3 vote to table the funding is a move that disappointed the Erie County Executive's office.
Chris Carroll, County Information Officer, said the move is not going to stop the Davis administration from trying to get the money out the members of the county. "We are not going to give up on all four corners of this county, we are going to try and take care of them as soon as we can and once we get it off the table, we will get that money out as soon as possible," Carroll said.
Erie County Councilwoman Mary Rennie, who voted in favor of tabling the funding, said she wants to see where the money is exactly going. "If we take $5million for one project, what are we doing with the remaining four or five million and where in the county is that going to go," Rennie said.
The Erie County Executive's office and Rennie also disagree on how many members are on the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Commission.
"We have six members that are free to maneuver however they see fit but when we have three members that are going to deliberate and vote on issues that those six are then we have some serious legal questions about the process as a whole because they should not be in deliberations and they should not have a vote after they have been removed," Carroll said.
"This stalemate has kept the funding from getting out which I think has been the plan all along unfortunately and I can only draw that conclusion because there is no reason to not get the funding out," Rennie said.