MOHAVE COUNTY – Chairman Jean Bishop’s COVID-19-related emergency declaration for Mohave County remains in effect following Monday’s Board of Supervisors meeting. Supervisor Hildy Angius temporarily postponed her push for a vote to end the emergency so more information can be obtained before the board meets again on Thursday.
“I believe we are on the other side of this pandemic and the numbers back me up,” Angius said. “At its height here in Mohave County from June 7 through July 18 there were 1,590 cases with 68 deaths. Now from Sept. 23 through Oct. 3 there were 203 cases and one death with many days of no new cases, including yesterday.”
Angius said it’s time for the Board to give residents back their liberty to make their own decisions rather than abide by government edicts.
“We are all adults capable of making our own health decisions. We need to learn how to live with this virus because it’s not going to ever go completely away and we are losing the trust of our citizens,’’ she said.
As he has before, Dist. 5 Supervisor Ron Gould sided with Angius on the need to relax coronavirus requirements and restrictions.
“I think it’s time to rescind the emergency and move on. We need to get back to normal … People need to circulate,” Gould said, further contending people have lost sense of an emergency declared more than six months ago.
County Manager Sam Elters expressed worry that ending the emergency now would result in more caution thrown to the wind.
“Our fear as staff, my fear also as a county manager is that a termination of the declaration will signal or provide a false sense of security that people may think ‘oh, okay we do not have an emergency anymore so we don’t have to take the measures that we have taken to get us to this point,’” Elters said.
Supervisor Jean Bishop expressed concern that Mohave County may have to reimburse the state and federal government for the $9.7 million provided to the county to boost public health and safety budgets strained by the pandemic. Elters, Finance Director Coral Loyd and Deputy County Attorney Ryan Esplin said there’s no clarity whether the county might have to return funds if the county terminates its emergency before the state and Uncle Sam.
Angius said she hopes to get the funding questions answered before the board possibly reconsiders the matter on Thursday.
Gould said higher levels of government will not be demanding return of funds that have been doled out for political purpose.
“They are not going to claw the money back. That’s all there is to it,” Gould said. “They’re trying to buy votes, so they’re not going to give up votes by clawing the money back.”
- Dave Hawkins
End the mandate!!!!! We are not stupid ??