Mayor's American Rescue Plan spending receives broad support from Council, community
Mayor Steinberg’s proposal for how the City should spend $112 million in American Rescue Plan dollars received broad support Tuesday from members of the City Council and the community.
Tuesday’s four-hour long discussion provided the first feedback on the Mayor’s spending rubric, which follows a similar community-focused approach to the one the city used in spending its $89 million in CARES Act funding last year.
“I think it’s a very well-rounded, strong proposal,” said Councilmember Eric Guerra.
“You gave us a really solid framework here,” said Councilmember Jeff Harris.
There was plenty of feedback from the 60 or so callers and the Councilmembers, and the proposal will be refined to reflect their input. City Manager said he will work with Mayor Steinberg and come back with a refined proposal. He noted that the federal government is still finalizing the eligibility requirements for American Rescue Plan spending.
After Councilmember Mai Vang and others raised concerns about making sure the ARP spending is guided by equity, Mayor Steinberg established an ad hoc committee that he and Vang will co-chair to focus both on making sure the ARP dollars are distributed with an equity focus and to oversee the ongoing work to create an equity lens tool for the city to use when making budget, policy and service delivery decisions.
The City of Sacramento has already received $56 million from ARP this year and will receive an additional $56 million next year.
The proposal received strong support from business and arts groups representing all the diverse neighborhoods of the City.
One of Mayor Steinberg’s top priorities for the ARP funds is $30 million to revitalize the City’s commercial corridors and assist small businesses. This includes $8.2 million in priorities identified by local business and community leaders who participated in a working group led by Vice Mayor Jay Schenirer.
Items in this category include removing boards from windows downtown, and creating a clean and safe environment citywide. The Al Fresco dining program will be continued and formalized.
The letter was the result of months of discussions with Council colleagues, City staff and advocates from the various sectors represented. Here are the categories covered in the proposal:
Small Business and Commercial Corridor Revitalization ($30 million)
Solutions to homelessness and affordable housing construction ($41 million)
Youth, workforce training and gang prevention programs ($18 million, $11 million from ARP )
Arts and the creative economy ($10 million)
City employees and organizational needs ($25 million, $20 million from ARP)
