Michigan county officials used COVID relief money to give themselves bonuses: 'I think that I earned it'



Elected officials in a Michigan county came under fire this week after news broke that they had used $65,000 in coronavirus relief money to pad their own wallets.

What happened?

Commissioners in Shiawassee County, all of whom are Republican, voted last week to use the federal relief money to award public employees — including themselves — one-time bonuses of at least $1,000, WILX-TV reported. They called the generous bonuses "hazard pay."

But while the average payout to employees was $2,100, top-level employees made significantly more. Jeremy Root, the county board chairman, received $25,000, second-tier commissioners John B. Plowman and Brandon Marks received $10,000, and the remaining four commissioners were each given $5,000, according to MLive.com.

County commissioners are paid $10,000 annually for their part-time job, plus stipends for meeting attendance.

One commissioner, Cindy Garber, who was awarded $5,000, even stood by the decision, arguing she deserves the money.

"I think that I earned it," she told WILX-TV. "I work really hard at this job. I was here in person all through this crazy year."

But another commissioner, Marlene Webster, said she was "mortified" when she saw the money deposit into her bank account. She added that she plans to give the payment back.

"I'm giving the money back," Webster told WILX-TV. "I think one commissioner is giving it to a nonprofit so those actions indicate that we truly did not know this money was coming to us."

Webster claimed that she was aware that payments were to be made to county employees but didn't know that commissioners were also set to be recipients.

What else?

Several members of the community, located between Lansing and Flint, were enraged at the county commissioners' decision, according to interviews conducted by WILX-TV.

"They saw some money on the table and they grabbed it," blasted one resident.

"There are so many businesses that struggled and closed ... there's [sic] a lot of people that could've used that money," added another.

The federal stimulus money was intended to assist small businesses and local governments during the pandemic. But according to the Michigan Association of Counties, no other county in the state has used it to pay elected officials.

In a statement regarding the controversial payout, the association offered implicit criticism but acknowledged it is up to each county's elected board to determine how to allocate the funds.

"We have been consistently advising our members to focus on making strategic investments in their services to the public, through documents, through regular briefings for commissioners and administrators and through webinars put on by such partners as the state of Michigan and the National Association of Counties," Stephan Currie, the association's executive director, said. "We are not aware of any other counties considering payments to elected officials, and MAC has not provided any guidance or advice to do so."

The full board meeting where the vote took place can be seen here:

Board of Commissioners www.youtube.com

Kroger closes five stores in California cities that require 'hero pay'



Grocery store chain Kroger announced that it was shutting down five stores in Southern California after cities approved ordinances requiring retailers to pay a "hero pay."

Kroger closed two stores in Long Beach on Saturday: a Ralphs and Food 4 Less in Long Beach, California. Kroger, which is the largest supermarket chain in the U.S. with nearly 2,800 stores in 35 states, stated that the city-mandated $4 "hero pay" increase was to blame for the store closings.

"As a result of the City of Long Beach's decision to pass an ordinance mandating Extra Pay for grocery workers, we have made the difficult decision to permanently close long-struggling store locations in Long Beach," said a spokesperson for Kroger several weeks ago, the Epoch Times reported. "This misguided action by the Long Beach City Council oversteps the traditional bargaining process and applies to some, but not all, grocery workers in the city."

In January, the Long Beach City Council and the city's Democratic Mayor Robert Garcia approved a "hero pay" ordinance that increased wages by $4 per hour. The COVID-19 pandemic-related pay increase included employees of pharmacies and retail stores with 300 or more employees in the southern California city.

The California Grocers Association attempted to stop the pay increase but was denied by a federal judge in February. U.S. District Judge Otis D. Wright II concluded, "CGA utterly fails to address why the ordinance is not an appropriate means for … fairly compensating grocery workers for the hazards they encounter as essential workers."

Union leaders claimed that Kroger is punishing workers and the communities.

The closures will impact an estimated 200 workers, according to KTTV-TV. Kroger said that employees of the doomed stores were given the chance to transfer to other locations. The grocery store workers union claims that the transfers could mean long and expensive commutes.

Last month, the Los Angeles City Council approved an emergency ordinance to require grocery stores, retailers, and pharmacies with more than 300 employees nationwide, or more than 10 employees on-site, to offer employees an additional $5 per hour in hazard pay during the coronavirus pandemic.

Kroger reacted by planning to close three Los Angeles locations on May 12, citing "hero pay" as the main factor for shuttering the doors.

"The mandate will add an additional $20 million in operating costs over the next 120 days, making it financially unsustainable to continue operating the three underperforming locations," Kroger said in a statement. "Despite our efforts to overcome the challenges we were already facing at these locations, the extra pay mandate makes it impossible to run a financially sustainable business that ensures our ability to continue serving the Los Angeles community at those three locations with reliable access to affordable, fresh groceries and other essentials."

"We are proud of our role as a leading employer in Los Angeles and remain committed to our dedicated associates on the frontlines serving in our 65 other area locations," the supermarket chain said.

Two Los Angeles City Council members introduced a motion to investigate Kroger for closing the three L.A. stores.

"The city has an interest in considering whether it should take legislative action to address these closures and potentially future closures of other grocery stores especially in areas of the city that are commonly known as Food Deserts," the motion introduced by Democratic Councilmen Marqueece Harris-Dawson and Paul Koretz said.