Senators passed an $8 million appropriation to provide a safety net for financially distressed Hancock County, working through prior concerns about whether it’s clear the money should be paid back.
In a Saturday morning floor session, senators passed the appropriation bill 27-1. The no vote was from Senator Eric Tarr, R-Putnam.
The bill, HB 4575, originated in the House of Delegates in response to a fiscal crisis in Hancock County. Early in the legislative session, the House of Delegates passed the bill in a single day, viewing the situation as urgent.
Separate legislation, HB 4574,would establish an emergency fund for cash-strapped school systems. That bill now appears to be deeply backburnered with lawmakers saying it does not seem necessary.
There has been legislative concern about ensuring that the money would be repaid to the state. Senators addressed that earlier this week by amending HB 4575, the actual appropriation bill, to make specific reference to the money being a loan.
Senate Education Chairwoman Amy Nichole Grady, R-Mason, described the evolution of the bill in an interview following the floor session. She said the change to make clear the intent of a loan gave lawmakers greater confidence.
“There was some question about ‘Is this a loan? — Is this not a loan? If we don’t put the word loan in there will they understand it’s a loan?’ This clarifies that,” Grady said.
Hancock County has been described as being roughly 140 employees over what the state school funding formula could support. State officials have said the county used federal covid relief dollars for ongoing expenses and then did not wean off adequately when that funding dried up.
Altogether, state officials have said Hancock County’s troubles include a $5 million cash shortfall, a $2 million high school overspend and a $1 million turf project with dollars from the county board’s general fund.
The state Board of Education moved last month to take over Hancock County schools and fire top personnel.
While stopgap financial support was viewed as urgent when the legislative session first began, officials more recently have consistently said the county still has enough money on hand to pay employees for a few more weeks.
“It was urgent at the time,” Grady said. “Now we know that they’re going to get paid past the legislative session so we don’t have to hurry or rush anything.”
Senator Laura Wakim Chapman, R-Ohio, expressed concern earlier in the legislative session that senators were not acting with enough urgency. On Saturday morning, Chapman praised the passage of the appropriation bill.
Chapman also felt assured that the bill’s construction now makes clear that the money should be paid back.
“It’s absolutely a relief,” Chapman said in an interview following Saturday’s floor session. “Any time I have a constituent from Hancock County come to the Capitol or give me a call that’s the first issue on their mind is — ‘Are the teachers, staff, cooks, bus drivers going to get paid?’
“It’s such a relief now that the Senate has overwhelmingly passed this cushion for Hancock County. However, I am dedicated to making sure this situation never happens again because it’s unacceptable what happened in Hancock County.”