At their meeting Tuesday the Henry County Supervisors went over the county numbers from 2020 census. Overall, the county population grew by 337 people bringing total population to 20,482. The majority of the growth occurred in Mt. Pleasant where the population grew by 606 increasing from 08,668 to 9,274. New London grew by 13 and Salem by 11. Otherwise, the cities dropped with the biggest change for Winfield. That city’s population dropped by 101. And while, the county grew overall the rural area population dropped from 6,429 to 6,319. The biggest drop occurred in the northern tier of townships. For example Jefferson township population dropped by 145 people. But Baltimore increased by 49. The majority of growth within the city of Mount Pleasant was in ward four. Auditor Shelly Barber said this may affect voting precinct boundaries. Planning and Zoning Administrator Joe Buffington will be making that change if necessary.
Tuesday the County Supervisor had planned to approve the disbursement of American Recovery Plan funds from the federal government. However, that will have to wait until the Thursday Supervisor meeting. Apparently, they have to wait on some legal documents and, as Supervisor Chad White said, some federal red tape. The Supervisors are considering funds for the New London and Mount Pleasant childcare facilities and for two broadband companies. These entities will have to agree to specific administrative and reporting protocols required by the federal government. The County will receive a total allocation of over 3 million dollars.