The Indiana Publisher

Page 3 October 2022 Ken de la Bastide The Herald Bulletin (Anderson) There is a line in a Tom Hanks movie where he utters the words "lesson learned." It appears that Madison County officials have taken those words to heart when it comes to the distribution of the $28 million in American Rescue Plan funds. Earlier this year, local resident Sean Smith filed a complaint with the Indiana Public Access Coun- selor's office contending the county violated the state's Open Door law when $3 million was approved for distribution. Luke Britt, the public access counselor, ruled the county was in violation, determining that a committee created by the Madison County Council of Governments on the distribution of funds violated state law. This week the Madison County Commissioners presented a new proposal for the distribution of the remaining American Rescue Plan funds. The proposed plan established two separate teams. A Leadership Team will score proposals for the distribution of the funds, track spending requirements and develop a strategic funding plan. The team consists of all three elected commissioners, two members of the Madison County Council and the elected auditor and surveyor. Two other county officials have been named to the team. The newly elected sheriff should be on the Leadership Team. The Engagement Team is to lead the effort to get input from the local community and residents. The overall plan indicates comments about community needs and interests will be obtained online and from in-person meetings taking place through December 2026. There are also plans for an in-person public forum by the end of the year and in-person meetings with municipal leaders through the second quarter of 2023. In-person meetings are also planned with businesses and nonprofits through much of 2023. Every in-person meeting scheduled by the Engagement Team should be open to members of the public. It is equally important that the Leadership Team make its vote on funding distribution in a public meeting. Another key point is that applications for funding should also be made available to the public. These meetings should be scheduled at a time when county residents can attend. They shouldn't take place during normal working hours but should start no earlier than 5 p.m. Another concern is that of the announced members of both teams, only one person is from the Black and Hispanic communities. The Engagement Team can increase its membership to include more community members. Those appointments should reflect the county's makeup in terms of minority representation. Regardless of the outcome of the November election, one person who should be included is County Councilman Fred Reese. Reese, as the lone Democrat on the County Council, should have been included on the Leadership Team. Even if he's not re-elected, he should be on one of the committees. Hopefully all the meetings will be open to the public as well as on-line. A mistake now will affect the county for decades. County's ARP process should be open to the public Holly Lubart News Media Alliance The Postal Service filed notice with the Postal Regula- tory Commission of price changes on Oct. 7. The Alliance has prepared charts of the USPS' planned increase in rates for next January for three subclasses of mail – Periodicals in-county, Periodicals outside county, and Marketing Mail carrier route letters and flats. The charts are available at bit.ly/3gInafx. The additional chart includes several sample postage calculations for in-county and marketing mail flats. The Periodicals rate increase is 4.2 percent overall, 4.014 percent for Outside County, and 7.614 percent for Within County. Within Marketing Mail, the average rate increase for High Density / Saturation Flats and Parcels is 4.699 percent. Also, the Postal Service is introducing a new discount for flat-shaped Marketing Mail pieces that are entered on SCF pallets. USPS files notice for new January 2023 rate increases The Postal Regulatory Commis- sion of price changes on Oct. 7. Another key point is that applications for funding should also be made available to the public.

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