Liberty

To the editor:

The US Treasury awarded Sullivan County $14,000,000 in Covid Relief Funds. The county received $7,000,000 this year and $7,000,000 in 2022.

This money was intended for hazard pay, economic hardship in the community, public health services, behavioral services, anything in our community that took a direct hit as a result of this pandemic. Here is the link to the US Treasury FAQ on how this money should be spent: https://home.treasury.gov/system/files/136/SLFRPFAQ.pdf

Your Sullivan County Legislature, in a 9-0 vote, decided that this $7,000,000 should go to roads and boilers instead of services for the people in a raging pandemic in a county next to last in terms of poorest health.

County frontline workers were given $500 taxable dollars out of a Contingency Fund not the Covid Relief $14,000,000 fund because the County did not want to do the work in separating who was Frontline and who was not.

This Legislature has failed all of us as our resources are paper thin and our medical system and behavioral services are in dire need of financial resources. Just think what this money could have done for the people of this community.