AMERICAN RESCUE
PLAN ACT - ARPA
CITY COUNCIL HEARING
JANUARY 18, 2021
AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN ACT OF 2021
• City of Merced Allocation (entitlement city)
– T otal of $27,427,882
– Payments in two traunches
• First half ($13,713,941) after submission of executed award terms and conditions (received 6/28/21)
• Second half one year later ($13,713,941)
2 APPROVED ALLOCATION
Category Amount ARPA
Categ
Description
Affordable Housing $6,500,000 A T o allow for construction across the City Water $2,500,000 D Various Conservation Programs
Broadband $2,650,000 D Needs Assessment and Infrastructure Applegate Zoo Renovation/Expansion $2,000,000 A Upgrade existing facilities, expand perimeter fence Bob Hart Square Expansion $800,000 A Create an outdoor plaza for events Mainstreet Directional Enhancements $750,000 C Addition of parking and on-way streets Parklets/Beautification $200,000 A T o invest from R Street to G Street Community Park #42 $5,000,000 A/C Invest in the construction of Community Park To u r i s m $0 T o be evaluated later
Utility Bill Relief $1,000,000 A Residential and Commercial Arears Job Training Program $1,000,000 C City-focused program to connect youth with local jobs Stimulus Payments $1,000,000 A One-time grant to families of $500 Expanded Y outh Programs $250,000 C Measure Y & ARPA funds to support Advance Peacemakers Non-Profit Support $1,500,000 A Grants to local non-profits impacted by COVID-19 COVID-19 City Expense $613,916 A Overtime, PPE, T esting Supplies Est. T otal $25,763,916
ARPA Allocation $27,427,882
Remaining Funds $1,663,966 3
ELIGIBLE USES
Public Health &
Economic
Impacts (A)
T o respond to the public health emergency or its negative economic impacts, including assistance to households, small businesses, and nonprofits, or aid to impacted industries such as tourism, travel, and hospitality.
Premium Pay
(B)
T o respond to workers performing essential work during the COVID-19 public health emergency by providing premium pay to eligible workers.
Reduction in
Revenue
(C)
For the provision of government services to the extent of the reduction in revenue due to the COVID-19 public health emergency relative to revenues collected in the most recent full fiscal year prior to the emergency (FY 2018-19).
Infrastructure
Investments
(D)
T o make necessary investments in water, sewer, and broadband infrastructure 4 RECOMMENDED FUNDING
Approved Project To t a l
Amount
Traunch 1
(2/22/22)
Traunch 2
(7/1/22)
Affordable Housing $6,500,000 $6,500,000 $0
Water $2,500,000 $500,000 $1,000,000
Broadband $2,650,000 $150,000 $2,500,000
Applegate Zoo Renovation/Expansion $2,000,000 $500,000 $1,500,000 Bob Hart Square Expansion $800,000 $200,000 $600,000
Mainstreet Directional Enhancements $750,000 $750,000
Parklets/Beautification $200,000 $200,000
Community Park #42 $5,000,000 $1,000,000 $4,000,000
To u r i s m $0 $0 $0
Utility Bill Relief $1,000,000 $1,000,000 $0
Job Training Program $1,000,000 $525,000 $475,000
Stimulus Payments $1,000,000 $500,000 $500,000
Expanded Y outh Programs $250,000 $250,000 $0
Non-Profit Support $1,500,000 $1,500,000 $0
COVID-19 City Expense $613,916 $613,916 $0
Est. T otal $25,763,916 $13,238,916 $12,525,000
ARPA Allocation $27,427,882 $13,713,941 $13,713,941
Remaining Funds $1,663,966 $475,025 $1,188,941 5
STIMULUS
PROGRAM
Classifications of workers to consider:
A. Essential Workers: Healthcare, Food and Agriculture, General Manufacturing, Government/CBO’s, Logistics & Delivery
B. Frontline Workers: Grocery/Convenience/Drug Store, Public Transit, Trucking, Warehousing, Postal, Building & Cleaning Services, Child Care & Social Services
C. Vulnerable Occupations: Restaurant & Hospitality, Oil & Gas, Travel Industry, Construction, Movie Industry, Gig Workers
D. Excess Mortality: Cooks, Machine Operators, Food Production, Bakers, Construction Workers, Manufacturing
6 INCOME THRESHOLD
7 • Set Income thresholds at a trackable Federal Poverty Level
– CalWORKs: 100% (dependent upon family circumstances) – Medi-Cal: 138%
– CalFresh: 200%
• Department of Treasury – Final Rule
– Allows for stimulus payments at up to 300%
• Local benefit evaluation from HSA
– Will be calculated as household asset v. income
for Safety Net benefits
UTILITY BILL RELIEF PROGRAM
8 • Water Arrearage Payment Program/State Water Resources Board – Application submitted 11/29/21 still under review
• Reinstating Water Delinquency Process (Council Direction) – No water shut offs since February 2020
– No late fees since February 2020
– Allow partial payments
– As of December 2021
• 20% Delinquency
– Water $335,114
– Sewer 379,337
– Refuse 409,600
$1,124,051
• Over 300 residential accounts have a balance of $1,000-$4,000 – Late fees will add 10% of current balance
Bill Date Due/Penalty Date Water Shut-Off
02/01/2022 02/22/2022 04/07/2022
03/01/2022 03/21/2022 05/04/2022
04/01/2022 04/20/2022 06/07/2022
05/01/2022 05/20/2022 07/06/2022
COVID -19 OPERATIONAL SUPPORT
9 • Requesting an additional $100,000 in allocation for supplies Recent surge created a need for increased Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) acquisition
• Need to evaluate requirements and reporting, to provide impact during Mid-year budget Vaccine/T esting mandates will negatively impact staffing & operations • Program implementation and eligibility
• Processing of payments
• Tracking use of funds
• Evaluate and report at Mid-Year
Additional programs will require administrative support
COUNCIL DIRECTION
10 Review and approve allocation for Traunch 1 and Traunch 2Review and approve
Provide staff direction on Stimulus Program elementsProvide Provide staff direction on reinstatement of Delinquency ProcessProvide Provide staff direction on COVID-19 Operational SupportProvide