MOHAVE COUNTY – Ron Gould is the only Mohave County Supervisor who hasn’t yet spent a penny of more than $8 million in American Recovery Act Plan (ARPA) funds allotted to his district under an equal distribution plan previously approved by the governing board. And if he executes his stimulus style approach, the people of District 5 could be enjoying some coronavirus cash before Christmas.
While his counterparts are spending money on parks, substance abuse, broadband internet technology, and water lines, the “Gould Give-back” plan would allocate funds directly to the people of his 5th District. Gould says crude calculations would see $166 distributed to each of the more than 40,000 men, women and children who live in the district.
Gould said his plan has been vetted.
“Initially I got some push back from the County Attorney’s office on it, which I really couldn’t understand, so we actually sat down and read the rules,” Gould said. “We can help households that have been hurt by the pandemic.”
Gould says his plan will make whole district residents who’ve been done a disservice by a flood of coronavirus relief money and deflationary practice coming from Washington D.C.
“Everyone’s been damaged by the expansion of the money supply,” Gould said. “They created that money through expansion of the currency, which devalues everybody’s money and their wallet and their bank account, so my goal was to do something that returns part of that value to the people’s pocketbook.”
Deputy County Attorney Tyler Palmer said his office is still reviewing the ARPA allocation rules and communicating with Gould about his distribution concept. He said there are a number of questions regarding eligibility, the process, and the mechanics of funding distribution that must be ironed out.
Board members have so far supported ARPA expenditures Supervisors have proposed for each district. Gould said he wouldn’t be surprised if his plan encounters some opposition.
Gould said he can’t yet seek Board approval for his plan because it’s still in development. He said it’ll be necessary to determine specifically how many people live within the district and how to route money to them.
“We don’t have a list of the residents of District 5, so we’re probably going to have to publicize and have them fill out an application,” Gould said.
Gould said he hopes to gain Board approval before Thanksgiving so that the funds can reach District 5 residents before Christmas.
Dave Hawkins
