The Woodstock Town Board approved using $12,500 in American Rescue Plan funding to pay bonuses to paramedics and to pay for personal protective equipment, also known as PPE.
About $10,000 will go toward the bonuses and $500 will go to each of the five fire companies for the PPE.
“The five fire companies of the Woodstock fire district have experienced additional losses due to the public health emergency while performing essential services for the town,” said the resolution approved at the September 21 Town Board business meeting.
The American Rescue Plan, which provides assistance to communities to deal with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, has a provision to pay bonuses to first responders and municipal workers who were at risk of exposure.
In August, the Town Board approved the use of about $95,000 in Rescue Plan money to pay town employees bonuses up to $2000 each, provided they worked between April 1, 2020, and June 30, 2021. The amounts of the bonuses were pro-rated based on the number of hours worked.
Another $150,000 was allotted last month to community assistance programs with $50,000 earmarked for a yet-to-be-determined affordable housing project, $50,000 for rent and utility assistance and $50,000 to Family of Woodstock for mental health and substance abuse programs.
The town expects to receive nearly $600,000 in American Rescue Plan aid.
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