Town trying carrot, not stick approach to vaccines

Coulee Dam plans to offer a $1,500 bonus to employees who have been vaccinated against the SARS-CoV-2 virus, a reversal of its direction two weeks ago when its council was leaning toward a mandate.

The city council, meeting online Monday night, took up a proposal by Councilmember Keith St. Jeor to use some of the federal funds the town will get for Covid relief as an enticement for some reluctant employees.

“We should probably reward those that are wanting to follow the rules and mandates,” St. Jeor said, contending that the move would qualify as a safety award.

The city will get some $300,000 from the federal American Rescue Plan funds, but officials appeared less than completely certain the program would fit the proposed use of the money.

“We cannot get a definite yes or no from anybody” on whether it would be legal to use the ARPA funds for the awards, Mayor Bob Poch said.

“We want to make sure we get everything right so that we don’t potentially hurt ourselves for future federal funding,” Clerk Stefani Bowden said.

St. Jeor said some language he’d seen was a yes in “black and white.”

The ARPA money must be used over three years.

Bowden said she’d contacted the U.S. Treasury department for guidance, but that will take time as they had about 5,000 other inquiries ahead of hers.

Treasury’s website says the funds are to:

“Support urgent COVID-19 response efforts to continue to decrease spread of the virus and bring the pandemic under control

“Replace lost revenue for eligible state, local, territorial, and Tribal governments to strengthen support for vital public services and help retain jobs

“Support immediate economic stabilization for households and businesses

“Address systemic public health and economic challenges that have contributed to the inequal impact of the pandemic.”

But Treasury also published a 39-page “Interim Final Rule” on the program in the Federal Register last May, and agency rules set administrative law that fine tunes how the government implements acts of Congress.

St. Jeor proposed proceeding with payments from the city’s own cash fund, which could be reimbursed with ARPA funds if deemed acceptable.

Councilmember Dale Rey boosted the amount from St. Jeor’s $1,000 award to $1,500. “Just simply because the goal here is to get our employees vaccinated without having to hold a gun to their head,” he said.

St. Jeor moved to offer the safety award of $1,500 to city employees who show that they’ve been fully vaccinated by Dec. 29.

The motion passed unanimously.

Bowden said she would ask the city attorney to have a policy drafted to that effect immediately.