Saginaw is reaping another $3 million-plus from ARPA, in addition to the original $52 million, and City Council members will have their first chance to talk about it at Monday’s 6:30 p.m. meeting.
No, President Biden and Democrats have not regained the power they wielded with passage of the 2021 American Rescue Plan Act. This money is accrued interest while much of the original $52 million sits in the bank, allocated but unspent to date.
This scenario is reflected in communities across the nation that reaped record revenue-sharing grants through ARPA’s $1.9 trillion, to combat hardship caused by the covid pandemic.
Furthermore, as City Manager Tim Morales explained two weeks ago, the interest revenue is not governed by the block-grant type ARPA rules that prevent spending the big money for basics like police and fire. With the “extra” $3 million from interest, in contrast, council members only must follow State of Michigan guidelines with basic standards, which means the entire general fund is eligible.
Morales suggested using shares of this money to pay Guidehouse consulting fees that may exceed the first ARPA-funded $850,000 contract, and also to cover any money that federal authorities may deem spent in violation. The outlook on any repay orders, possibly including a teen employment project through a local clergy group, is uncertain because ARPA is new with a different bureaucracy, while CDBG block grants go back to the 1960s War on Poverty.
At the Feb. 19 meeting, the manager spoke to prevent ARPA from harming the general fund budget, but did not mention the option of boosting the annual operating blueprint. This issue, ARPA interest for general fund (police/fire), possibly may emerge as soon as Monday’s meet, or linger into the fall election campaign for six open seats on the nine-member council. To view the Morales two-minute response to Councilman Michael Flores, click here.
