Greetings,
Spring is here! I hope everyone is enjoying the warmer temperatures and getting outdoors to enjoy some sun. We are slowly returning to our new normal. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, it is now safe for us to be outdoors without a mask, under certain conditions. We should be fully vaccinated and not in a big crowd. Indoors, they recommend we continue to all wear masks.
For our Fiscal staff, this is a particularly busy time of year. They have successfully delivered their Fiscal Work Session for Directors and are now turning their attention to budget matters. Beginning in May, they will start the process of budget meetings to lay out the FY22 budget, which will return to the regular 12-month period. This will require several meetings with Executives and Council. In addition, our Comptroller has presented the Six Month Financial Report to Executives and Council, which covered the first half of the FY21 budget season. We continue to await final information on the American Rescue Plan (ARP) of 2021.
Our Treasurer’s Office staff continues to assist me with taking care of a variety of projects and tasks. The Special Edition newsletter, addressing the drug epidemic on our territories, has a publication date of June 4th. The mask mail-out project is still in the works and should be completed by the last week of May. Our Budget & Finance meetings continue to go smoothly and all other fiscal items are being attended on a daily basis.
With the weather warming up, I’m personally looking forward to getting outdoors a bit in the coming weeks. I understand I missed out on the leeks and wild onions this year. If there is anything I have missed doing during this pandemic, it’s watching lacrosse games! I’m really looking forward to catching some lacrosse, when I can. That reminds me – the newly renovated Veteran’s Park in Salamanca is completed and is officially now open and the Salamanca Athletic Department is in full swing.
Although we can now go mask-less outdoors, provided we are fully vaccinated and not in a large crowd; we should continue to wear masks indoors at all times. In addition to the original COVID-19 virus, we’re faced with variant strains of the virus spreading. Also, we do not know for certain – whom has been vaccinated and whom has not. Please help to keep our communities as safe as possible by getting vaccinated.
Respectfully,
Rickey L. Armstrong, Sr.
