Palo Alto resident, businessman and former Mount Carbon Mayor Jeffrey J. Dunkel on Wednesday questioned Schuylkill County commissioners about federal CARES Act money.

The county received $12,765,970 from the program through the state Department of Community and Economic Development.

The county spent the bulk of the money on public safety projects, including about $3.5 million for equipment upgrades and alternative site planning for the county 911 center, and $233,996 to make the courthouse safer.

Dunkel, who has for months clashed with commissioners over policies and actions to the point of being escorted out of public meetings, accused them of using the funds “as a shell game to shuffle money around to cover budget shortfalls.”

He also said commissioners were doing the same thing with federal American Rescue Plan funds.

The county will receive a total of about $27 million split between 2021 and 2022.

Dunkel said commissioners have yet to distribute those funds to small businesses, volunteer fire companies or nonprofit organizations.

“Every one of them took a huge hit in the last two years,” he said. “There’s got to be something to start rolling money out to the people who are struggling.”

Neither Commissioner George F. Halcovage Jr. nor Commissioner Gary J. Hess commented.

Commissioners’ Chairman Barron L. Hetherington was absent.