CITY OF POMONA
COUNCIL REPORT
November 20, 2023
To: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
From: James Makshanoff, City Manager
Submitted By: Andrew Mowbray, Finance Director/City Treasurer SUBJECT: Approval of A DONATION FROM the City of Pomona’s AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN (ARP) Expenditure Spending Plan RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the City Council approve a $10,000 donation from the City of Pomona’s American Rescue Plan (ARP) expenditure spending plan to the Downtown Property Owners Association for the Pomona Christmas Parade.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
The City was allocated $45.37M in ARP funds. According to US Treasury guidelines, ARP funds are to be obligated by December 2024 and expended by December 2026. As of April 30, 2023, $7.6M has been expended, and $12.8M has been obligated.
The Downtown Pomona Owners Association (DPOA) has asked the City of Pomona to donate $10,000 to assist financially with the Pomona Christmas Parade to help offset expenses of the annual event.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The donation of $10,000 is available to be funded from the most recently approved ARP Expenditure Spending Plan update that was approved by the City Council in May 2023. Funds are specifically available in the “Health and Wellness Activities” designated ARP program. It should be noted that when this donation is reported to the US Treasury, it will be categorized as a “General Government Service.” Funds are available in the ARP fund (191-4115-52285-10042).
PREVIOUS RELATED ACTIONS:
On June 7, 2021, as part of the FY 2021-22 adopted budget, $6.8M was budgeted in the General Fund for potential revenue loss and accepted the $45.37M of the ARP funds allocated to the City of Pomona by the US Treasury.
On August 9, 2021 an ARP study session was held, and discussion occurred regarding uses that will be eligible. The Mayor and City council provided direction and suggested a specific plan to allocate $45.37M of the ARP funds.
On September 20, 2021 the Mayor and City Council approved the $45.37M City of Pomona ARP Expenditure Plan.
On November 15, 2021 as part of the FY 2021-22 1st Quarter, update to the Expenditure Plan was approved and $2.07M of ARP funds were appropriated for one-time payments included in the respective bargaining unit agreements.
On December 6, 2021the City Council approved appropriation of $6.9M of ARP funds for capital improvement projects – Park Restroom Construction Replacement, Mission Blvd Rehabilitation (White Ave to Towne Ave), and Garey Ave Rehabilitation (Aliso Street to Monterey Ave).
On December 20, 2021 an ARP Sub-committee consisting of the Mayor, and two (2) council members to assist with the process to appropriate the ARP funds for the specific programs and projects as set forth in the City Council approved ARP spending plan was formed.
On February 28, 2022 an update to the ARP Spending Plan was approved to transfer $544,901 for City support related to the pandemic.
On April 18, 2022 the City Council approved ARP appropriations of $370k for Buena Vista Avenue Rehabilitation – Mission Blvd to 9th Street and $500k Philadelphia Street Rehabilitation – San Antonio Avenue to East City Limit.
On May 16, 2002 an update to the ARP Spending Plan was approved to transfer $106k District 2 Microgrants and a status update of ARP FY 2021-22 Appropriations and FY 2022-23 Proposed Budget Appropriations was provided.
On June 6, 2022, the City Council approved the Proposed ARPA Policies and Procedures, and the Adopted FY 2022-23 budget that included appropriations increase of $500k to be used from ARP funds for Library youth services. An update to the ARP Spending Plan was approved to allow a reduction of $250k from the Health and Wellness Activities category, as well as a reduction of $250k from the Participatory Budget category to fund this increase to the Library.
On August 15, 2022, an update to the ARP Spending Plan was approved to allocate $1M for Citywide Rental Stabilization startup costs for consultant services, legal aid, and future work by City staff, $1.15M for Health and Wellness for possible uses including but not limited to concerts and community events as coordinated by the Mayor and councilmembers with City staff, mainly Neighborhood Services Department, $1.06M for Small Business Grants to fully appropriate funds allocated for this program, $600k for Real Time Crime Center (RTCC) which includes live-feed cameras on Holt Avenue ($300k) and build out of RTCC ($300k), and $200k for ARP Administration – Best, Best & Krieger support services, consultant services for subrecipient monitoring and ARP staffing services in Finance and Neighborhood Services.
On November 21, 2022, an update to the ARP Spending Plan was approved to allocate $211k for the Police Department's COPS Technology and Equipment Grant. This amount was offset from the General Fund Budget Shortfall category.
On December 5, 2022, Staff provided a summary of the PJP proposal and noted a number of concerns with the project as proposed at that point. During the meeting, the Council directed staff to work with PJP to revise its proposal to address staff’s concerns listed on the August 9, 2021 ARP Study Session Agenda item. On August 9, 2021, the City Council provided feedback and direction to staff on how they would like the $45.37M ARP funds allocated by December 2024 and spent by December 2026.
On April 17, 2023 the Pomona Jobs Program was awarded $631k ARP funds from the Economic Support for Pandemic and D1 ARP allocation in the amount of $350k and $281k, respectively.
Om May 15, 2023 an update to the ARP Spending Plan was approved which authorized the use of $400k of ARP funds for the Summer Concert Series for the next 4 years (2023 to 2026).
DISCUSSION:
The City was allocated $45.37M in ARP funds. Half of the allocation in the amount of $22.7M million was received on May 19, 2021, and the balance was received in May 2022. Funding from the ARP is subject to the requirements specified in the Final Rule released by the US Treasury. ARP funds are to be obligated by December 2024 and expended by December 2026. According to the Government Accountability Office (GAO), who is the audit, evaluation, and investigative arm of Congress, ‘Obligated’ is defined as “a definite commitment that creates a legal liability of the government for the payment of goods and services ordered or received, or legal duty that could mature into a legal liability by virtue of actions on the part of another party that are beyond the control of the government.” The approval of the donation of $10k to the DPOA will be utilized from available funds in the ARP Health and Wellness Activities Program ($1.15M). As of November 1, 2023, $415k has been expended and $8k has been obligated. On May 15, 2023 the City Council approved the authorization to use $400k of ARP for Summer Concert Series for the next 4 years (2023 to 2026). In addition, $23k was allocated towards the Heart of the Foothills Event on April 3, 2023.
CONCLUSION
As covered herein, ARP funds are to be obligated by December 2024 and expended by December 2026. There are considerations to be aware of including adding City staffing, consultants, and contractors to obligate and spend ARP funds timely. In addition, making sure the nexus of the ARP guidelines are met for each program to qualify for eligibility. The main factor to keep in mind is if the program uses would meet the criteria for the City of Pomona in responding to the economic and public health impacts of COVID-19 and to assist in efforts to mitigate impacts on communities, residents, and businesses. This $10k donation to the DPOA for the Pomona Christmas Parade is an eligible use of the ARP Funds.
Prepared by:
____________________________
Andrew Mowbray
Finance Director/City Treasurer
ATTACHMENT:
Attachment No. 1 – DPOA Pomona Christmas Parade Request for Donation American Rescue Plan: Spending Plan Update