Sacramento just got an $89.6 million federal stimulus check. But how will it be spent?
The city of Sacramento Tuesday received a $89.6 million federal government stimulus check.
Now, it just needs to decide how to spend it.
“This $89,623,427 stimulus check from the federal government starts our economic recovery,” a tweet posted to Mayor Darrell Steinberg’s account Tuesday reads. “It can’t be used to fill budget holes, and must be spent by Dec. 31. My goal is to use it to carry out the #MeasureU goals of growing our economy in way that uplifts all our neighborhoods.”
Steinberg wants to use the stimulus money to help address the city’s housing crisis; redevelop commercial corridors; help fund the Aggie Square project at UC Davis Medical Center; fund tourism initiatives; support the city’s growing creative economy of artists; and support workforce development training for recent college graduates and adults, he told The Sacramento Bee last week. He’d also like to see it fund some of the inclusive economic development projects that have been submitted, he said.
It’s not yet clear whether the city will be able to use the check on those types of projects, many of which are among the initiatives Steinberg said the city would fund if voters approved the Measure U sales tax increase in 2018.
The city expects to receive guidance from the federal government on how the stimulus money can be spent by Friday, city spokesman Tim Swanson said.
City officials are projecting a drop of $30 million in revenue in the fiscal year that ends June 30, as well as another decrease of at least $60 million in the following year, City Manager Howard Chan told The Bee last week. Big drops in sales tax and hotel tax revenue are contributing to the decrease in revenue.
Stimulus money during the first round was sent to localities of more than 500,000 people; Sacramento’s population is estimated at 508,000. It’s possible the city could receive additional federal government stimulus funding in the future.
