North Augusta councilmembers have voted to open a new bank account for funds it will receive from the American Rescue Plan.
Administrator Jim Clifford had recommended the separate fund to make sure the money is used properly.
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“This will allow us to have full transparency of the receipt of those funds and the subsequent actions of those funds which will be approved by council,” said Clifford. “At some point in time, the staff will come back to council with the spending plan for some of that funding, and this will allow the citizens to see how those funds are being.”
North Augusta anticipates getting approximately $11 million dollars from the federal government. South Carolina must first vote to accept the money and then distribute it to smaller cities like North Augusta. Clifford does not anticipate that will happen until later this year.
In other matters, Mayor Briton Williams read a proclamation observing July as Parks and Recreation Month and used the time to announce a new contest.
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“It’s always been odd that we live on the river, but never have actual events on the river,” Williams said. “We want the people to determine what kind of event we should have on the river in 2022.”
A form will be posted on the city’s social media accounts for citizens to suggest an event they think the city should arrange on the river.
Williams said, “We will take your recommendations until the end of August. We will form a citizen committee to work with staff to filter the ideas to probably three to five. We’ll put a cost estimate in the budget for 2022 to be done in the spring or summer of next year.”
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He said citizens will be asked to vote on which event they want the city to arrange.
Williams said a link to the application will also be on the city website and paper copies will be available at different locations in the city.
Dana Lynn McIntyre is a Staff Reporter with The Augusta Press. You can reach her at dana@theaugustapress.com.
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