See how Sacramento will spend roughly $29 million in federal coronavirus stimulus funding
The Sacramento City Council Tuesday approved a list of items to fund with roughly $29 million in federal stimulus money and laid out a plan to get public input to decide how to spend the remaining $60 million it received.
The council approved about $24 million in CARES Act funding in projects Mayor Darrell Steinberg called “early wins” and about $5 million in items that the city already funded in emergency response to the pandemic.
“Tonight’s vote represents tangible hope for many in Sacramento who are struggling to survive,” Steinberg said. “And it is only the start. More help is on the way.”
The items funded as “early wins” include:
▪ $10 million for small business assistance. This includes direct financial assistance, grants and a potential loan program for technical assistance.
▪ $5 million for arts organizations in the city’s “creative economy” that are struggling.
▪ $2 million for a summer learning program coordinated with the school districts to serve students most impacted by the school closures.
▪ $1 million to continue funding St. John’s Program For Real Change and City of Refuge nonprofits, which serve Sacramento homeless adults and families.
▪ $1 million to open a detox facility to treat people with methamphetamine and opioid addictions
▪ $2 million to help local organizations serving victims of domestic violence.
▪ $250,000 for family mental health initiatives.
▪ $250,000 to support programs that provide food to vulnerable youth, families and seniors.
▪ $150,000 to expand the Financial Empowerment Center project to provide free financial counseling for residents impacted by the pandemic.
▪ $150,000 for free mediation to commercial and residential landlords and tenants who are working on agreements for repayment as a result of the eviction moratorium, which is set to expire Sunday. Steinberg said he thinks Gov. Gavin Newsom is likely to extend the statewide moratorium.
The list of items that the city has already funded, which will now be supported by CARES Act money, includes:
▪ $1.1 million in economic relief for small businesses.
▪ $1 million to help restaurants set up areas for outdoor dining where people can physically distance.
▪ $1.5 million to provide low-income students, families and seniors with Internet connectivity and to provide low-cost computers to families through a partnership with Comcast, local organizations and the Sacramento Public Library.
▪ $450,000 for council members to respond urgently to small projects and services that immediately assist residents.
▪ $250,000 for motel room stays at the Embassy Suites in Old Sacramento for the city’s first responders and essential employees who want to limit their household’s exposure to the virus.
▪ $250,000 for a paid summer internship program for 400 high schoolers.
▪ $250,000 to continue a program where local restaurants deliver meals to seniors’ homes during the pandemic.
▪ $250,000 for masks, cleaning and disinfecting supplies for homeless encampments.
▪ $250,000 to support a Sacramento Central Labor Council bilingual hotline to provide help for workers impacted by the pandemic in dealing with unemployment, paid family leave, disability insurance, paid sick leave, workers compensation and legal advice.
▪ $918,000 for limited-term positions to perform “emergency homeless encampment cleanup” through the end of 2020. This money could be used, for example, to dispose of items that people staying in the encampment designate as trash and request to be removed, city spokesman Tim Swanson said.
▪ $500,000 for outreach and education about the coronavirus to underserved communities.
The city is hiring a contractor to survey residents, and plans to bring results to the City Council in mid-June, city auditor Jorge Oseguera said.
City staff and council members will come up with proposals consistent with the four categories laid out in a May 12 letter from Steinberg, and return to the council for approval, the staff report said. The categories include: small business assistance, workforce training, youth enrichment, family services, homeless services and rehousing, and arts/tourism.
The funding must be spent by the end of 2020 and cannot be used to fill budget gaps, the U.S. Department of the Treasury has said.
Steinberg urged Sacramento County, which received about $181 million in federal stimulus funds, to at least match what the city has spent on domestic violence and homelessness.
This story was originally published May 27, 2020 at 9:54 AM.
