To the editor:

If you’ve attended county commissioner or council meetings of late, you could’ve heard it said that I think the county should borrow more than the $2 million it borrowed in the past for capital improvements. I, in fact, sent a text comment from my Zoom connection to a commissioner meeting in June during a discussion of current low interests. I wrote, “Borrow all you can @~1% interest.” That’s very cheap money.

But what I did not say was borrow more at 3 percent, which commissioner Diana Biddle requested and obtained approval for in a resolution adopted at the June county council meeting.

And certainly I did not suggest borrowing any amount of money for which a clear plan is not first produced indicating a compelling reason for doing so. Brown County has many bridges in serious need of repair or replacement. A detailed plan for addressing that situation needs to be created rather than finding out which will be the first bridge to fail under the weight of a school bus.

Nor did I say that money borrowed at low interest rates is a better option than obtaining federal funds requiring no local match. Funds are currently available for the county by way of the American Rescue Plan. But a plan for the use of those funds must be adopted by the commissioners before that money can be spent.

So, it makes more sense to prioritize county needs and complete the ARP plan, and then determine what additional borrowing makes sense.

Kevin Fleming, Van Buren Township