WCCA requests financial support from county

The Montgomery County Board of Supervisors is considering another funding request from West Central Community Action.
Executive director Wendy Mueller spoke before the supervisors at its regular meeting Jan. 11 and praised them for their continued support of the organization.
“Your funding really allows for us to provide services in Montgomery County at the highest level, and we are requesting $3,000, the same amount as last year,” Mueller said.
Mueller added she had submitted a 28-E agreement that needed the signatures of the chairman and  County Auditor Stephanie Burke in order to receive the funding.
Supervisor Donna Robinson said she had received the agreement in October 2021, but that it would need to be resubmitted and re-signed by newly-elected Chairman Mark Peterson and Burke.
Mueller outlined the areas the funding would be used for moving into 2022.
“We’ll be distributing it in our outreach offices, local match requirements for any programs we serve in Montgomery County, and any additional funding needs that we have to administer programs in Montgomery County,” commented Mueller.
Additionally, Mueller expressed her appreciation for the work Supervisor Charla Schmid had been doing on their board of directors.
Mueller said last year, the organization provided a lot of support and served a number of people in the area.
“We served a total of 469 households, which consisted of more than 1,100 individuals. Of the households served, 43% were single-person, 62% were homes that had an income below 100 percent of the poverty guidelines, and 58% were on a fixed monthly income,” said Mueller. “A total of 47% were between the ages of 18 to 59, and 53% of the households are owned, or are in the process of being bought.”
West Central Community Action also provides Head Start, which promotes school readiness for children ages 3-5 who are from low-income families.
“That program really offers a variety of services, education, nutritional health, and social, and we operated two classrooms in Montgomery County. One served 16 children, and the other served 20 children. We also offer the Early Headstart program which provides services to infants, toddlers, pregnant women, and their families in low-income situations, and we served a total of 19 children,” advised Mueller.
West Central also provided weatherization services. A total of eight homes were weatherized with $208,000 worth of services. The LIHEAP program also provided $205,000 in services to Montgomery County residents. Services were also provided to 319 participants through the WIC program. Overall, a total of more than $1.7 million in services were provided to Montgomery County residents.
Robinson said for the $3,000 investment, the county got a lot back from West Central Community Action for the funding being requested. The funding request will be included in the ongoing budget discussions taking place by the supervisors.
In other business, the supervisors:
• Approved the sheriff’s report of fees for December 2021, in the amount of $15,901.
• Approved the Recorder’s report of fees for December 2021, in the amount of $22,513.
• Approved a tax transfer from rural services basic to secondary roads, in the amount of $13,256.
• Approved a tax transfer from general basic to secondary roads, in the amount of $741.

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