Letter to the editor: We need transparency from commissioners on ARP spending

I want to thank the editorial board for addressing the Westmoreland County commissioners’ baseless plan for an opaque monthly rollout of rescue plan money (“Why the cliffhanger American Rescue Plan announcement?” July 14, TribLIVE). The commissioners were giddy to vote for their spending plan July 14. They sighed in relief at the conclusion of all their hard work. As your piece pointed out, it was only after pressure from the Tribune-Review — and I will add the community group Voice of Westmoreland — that the commissioners sought community input a year ago.

We may finally have a plan, but let’s not forget that it comes after Commissioners Gina Cerilli Thrasher, Doug Chew and Sean Kertes have done the bare minimum required by federal guidelines. An online survey and one public hearing in Youngwood over the course of a year are inadequate. No data was presented at the recent meeting as to how this new plan would address collected community input.

And while they try to distract their constituents with a human services resource fair while voting on a grossly incomplete plan, we are left wondering what is to come month by month. They should only exhale when we, the people, have full and complete knowledge of their plans.

Sarah Skidmore

Greensburg

The writer is a member of Voice of Westmoreland.