City Of San Antonio: Residents Invited To Weigh In On The Use Of COVID-19 Relief Funds

Press release from the City of San Antonio:

October 29, 2021

CONTACT: Laura Mayes
laura.mayes@sanantonio.gov; 210-207-1337

Kristy Hernandez
Kristy.hernandez@sanantonio.gov; 210-207-3919

SAN ANTONIO (October 29, 2021) — The City of San Antonio invites residents to help shape the allocation of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds through a series of town hall meetings. The public will have eight opportunities to provide feedback by attending these public meetings. Community feedback will be shared with City Council. City Council will ultimately adopt a plan for the use of these funds in January of 2022.

“During the pandemic, San Antonio along with the rest of the world experienced major health and economic disruptions. The City has presented a spending framework for the use of these one-time federal funds to continue responding to the pandemic, address immediate community needs and make impactful investments,” said City Manager Erik Walsh. “I’d like to invite all of our residents to join us at one of eight community-wide town hall meetings to share their feedback. We are looking forward to seeing you and engaging with you on this important matter.”

The City of San Antonio was awarded $326.9M under the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). ARPA funds are being provided to state and local governments to help communities recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. The funds are being allocated in two installments, the first was received in May 2021 and the second one will be received in May 2022. The funds must be obligated by December 31, 2024 and spent by December 31, 2026.

The United States Treasury Department has four categories of eligible uses of ARPA funds.

1. Response to the negative impact of Covid-19
2. Government services to the extent of revenue loss
3. Premium pay for essential workers
4. Investment in water, sewer and broadband infrastructure

As part of the Fiscal Year 2022 Budget, the City allocated $97.5 million in ARPA funds to stabilize the City budget and address immediate needs. The balance of ARPA funds, which is $229.4 million will be allocated with Council and Community input.

The City will apply five guiding principles to the development of this plan, including:

• Address critical and urgent community needs
• Investments in one-time projects (expended by 2026)
• Transformational projects
• Investments to address inequities and root causes of disparities
• Leverage partnerships with partners

Residents can watch the meetings live by visiting www.sanantonio.gov/tvsa or on the City’s Facebook page. Or watch on television channels: AT&T 99, Grande 20, Spectrum 21, and digital antenna 16.1, or listen live by dialing 210-207-5555 and selecting option 1 for English or option 2 for Spanish.

A complete schedule for the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) public meetings is shown below. Meetings will be available in English, Spanish and American Sign Language and will feature interactive, live audience polling.

• Saturday, November 6
  10:30 a.m.
  Palo Alto College Legacy Ballroom
  1400 W. Villaret

• Saturday, November 6
  3 p.m.
  Las Palmas Library
  515 Castroville Rd.

• Tuesday, November 9
  7 p.m.
  Alicia Treviño Lopez Senior Center
  8353 Culebra Rd.

• Wednesday, November 10
  7 p.m.
  Northeast Senior Center
  4135 Thousand Oaks Dr.

• Saturday, November 13
  10:30 a.m.
  Bob Ross Senior Center
  2219 Babcock Rd.

• Monday, November 15
  7 – 8 p.m.
  Ella Austin Auditorium
  1023 N Pine St.

• Tuesday, November 16
  7 – 8 p.m.
  Southside Lions Senior Center
  3303 Pecan Valley Dr.

• Wednesday, November 17
  7 – 8 p.m.
  St. Paul Community Center
  1201 Donaldson Ave.

This press release was produced by the City of San Antonio. The views expressed here are the author’s own.