AUGUSTA — Kennebec County officials are continuing to receive spending requests for its share of federal stimulus funds, but not everyone is certain the process has been as transparent as it could be.

State Rep. Charlotte Warren, a Democrat who represents Hallowell, Manchester and West Gardiner, brought questions about the process to the Kennebec County Commissioners meeting Tuesday as well as concerns about public hearings on how the $23.7 million allocated to the county through the American Rescue Plan Act is to be spent.

Charlotte Warren

Warren said some of the groups she’s working with that are interested in submitting applications for funding have struggled to find information about the commissioners’ process.

“I’m very concerned that — not intentionally — there may be a process that does not appear transparent to the folks of Kennebec County,” Warren said. “I know that’s not purposeful. So really, I’m here to offer some constructive assistance in ways we could make it more transparent.”

Among them was posting email addresses for county commissioners on the county government website, in addition to the already-listed phone numbers, and making meeting agendas readily available on the website.

“What would be helpful is also if we knew when there was a deadline if we knew who was making the decisions,” she said. “I just think that would quell a lot of interest and concerns by groups who are rightly interested in what’s going to happen with this $22 or $23 million.”

The process of determining how the money ought to be spent has been underway since the summer and has been described in a series of public meetings and on the county’s website.

“The bottom line is that the commissioners make the decision,” Commissioner Nancy Rines said Tuesday. “I think we need public input. I think that’s always good, but that’s not where the decision lies.”

Under the American Rescue Plan Act, cities, towns and counties that were excluded from earlier federal relief programs are slated to receive billions of dollars nationwide to help communities recover from economic damages wrought by the coronavirus pandemic. Across Kennebec County, cities and towns together will receive nearly $10 million through the stimulus package, based on population.

The county’s share, however, is more than twice that amount.

Generally, under the rules developed by the U.S. Department of the Treasury, the money can be used to support the public health response to the COVID-19 pandemic, addressing the pandemic’s negative economic impacts, replacing public sector revenue loss, providing premium pay for essential workers, and water, sewer and broadband infrastructure.

In August, Kennebec County officials said they planned to distribute the county’s American Rescue Plan Act funds via a grant program.

At the end of September, officials from municipalities and nonprofit groups across the county met with commissioners and county officials to offer suggestions on how Kennebec County’s allotment ought to be spent.

At that time, the intent had been to hire a program administrator to oversee the grant process, with the county’s budget committee — made up of municipal officials in Kennebec County — making final recommendations for the county commissioners to consider.

Robert Devlin, county administrator at the time, said commissioners were interested in projects that serve a larger community. Information about the program and a link to the application form is on the county’s website.

Scott Ferguson

And while other counties had set deadlines for funding requests, Kennebec County had opted not to set application deadlines nor was it imposing caps on funding requests or offering funding on a first-come, first-served basis.

Scott Ferguson, who was hired as county administrator following Devlin’s announcement he would retire, said Tuesday that instead of hiring a program administrator, the county will instead seek out a consultant to do that work on contract. A request for proposals is expected to be drafted by the end of November.

Ferguson said he’s developing a tentative timeline, and it will be posted on the county’s website.

“I do intend to send an email out to all the applicants letting them know that, yes, we have received their applications and they’ll be entertained and a little bit of what was said here,” he said.

Warren said she doesn’t think the county’s hearing process was sufficient to be considered a public hearing in the way that cities or the state Legislature hold public hearings.

“I think what you did initially was you presented what you had received, you talked about the guidelines for the funding, and you heard some feedback,” she said. “But we have no idea as your constituents what the plan is, who’s making the decisions or what those decisions will be so that we can then provide feedback to you.”

“The commissioners chose not to do it that way,” said Patsy Crockett, chairwoman of the commissioners. “We had the public hearing and that was how they chose to do it.”

Warren said she’s concerned that input does not come only from people who are connected or who know how to get in touch with their county commissioners.

Ferguson said the county’s website will be updated with current information.