In its Tuesday meeting, the board discussed an Infection Prevention Grant from the state for the Ottawa Public Health Department.
Board Chair Republican Joe Moss was not in favor of accepting the grant believing it was primarily supplemental funds related to COVID-19 – a hot-button topic in the county since the pandemic and a key issue with Ottawa Impact, a right-wing political advocacy organization which backs Moss and several others on the board.
“I understand the state would like to continue incentivizing spending in this area. I don’t think we need to preplan to spend $900,000 on communicable diseases and COVID.”
Commissioner Chris Kleinjan, a Democrat, argued against rejecting the grant, noting other communicable diseases such as whooping cough are on the rise nationally.
“Infectious diseases will not stop. I understand the passions that COVID brings up in people but there are a myriad of other things that will put you down. If this is for training and prevention of that myriad of other things, removal of that at this point seems to be a bit perfunctory to me.”
The board voted 6-4 to approve the budget without the grant.