Sioux City ponders using relief funds for employee bonuses

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — Sioux City is considering spending $250,000 in federal coronavirus relief funds to provide a $300 bonus to city employees a little more than a week before Christmas. The Sioux City Journal reports that the City Council is expected to vote Monday on the proposal. City Manager Bob Padmore had urged council members in May to devote most of the city’s federal COVID-19 relief dollars to infrastructure projects. The city now expects to receive $40.6 million. If approved, employees would get the extra payment Dec. 17. Mayor Pro Tem Dan Moore said city employees did work under extraordinary circumstances during the coronavirus pandemic.