Island County has received $16.8 million of taxpayer money from the Federal Government through the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 which provided counties and municipalities across the nation with large amounts of cash and relatively permissive rules governing the use of the funds. The Island County Commissioners have decided to use $1.5 million of these funds by giving essential county employees “premium pay” bonuses for their work during the pandemic.
There are some questions concerning the legality of these bonuses per Washington state law but county officials are looking at creative ways around any state restrictions concerning the gifting of public funds. The Commissioners have not indicated how the remaining money will be used. For all the details, see the story by Jessie Stensland in the Whidbey News-Times.
