City of Alexandria, Virginia
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MEMORANDUM
DATE: MARCH 17, 2021
TO: THE HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF CITY COUNCIL
FROM: MARK B. JINKS, CITY MANAGER /s/
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Discussion of the American Rescue Plan Funding and a Proposed Process Timetable for Decision Making.
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ISSUE: Planning for the allocation of federal stimulus funding from the American Rescue Plan (ARP).
RECOMMENDATION: That City Council:
(1) Receive this report regarding the proposed process for developing an ARP spending plan,
(2) Direct the City Manager to consult with community stakeholders and then to develop a proposed final federal stimulus funding allocation plan for future Council consideration; and
(3) Utilize $450,000 in ARP funding, from April 1 to July 6 to serve as interim bridge funding for security, eviction prevention, and other emergency programs to keep safety net programs operating, until the July 6 City Council first year ARP allocation decisions are approved.
BACKGROUND: During the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government has approved several relief packages to provide funding to federal, state and local governments and school districts to combat COVID-19 and to provide protective relief to the population. While the dollar size of the relief has been substantial, the CARES relief bill, approved early in the pandemic, was the only legislation that included direct aid to counties and cities. Since then, Congress approved additional COVID relief funding, but while those relief bills did provide some targeted support money that eventually found its way to local government, none of that legislation provided direct aid to local governments. The provision of direct state and local aid had largely become a partisan issue. However, the change in control of the U.S. Senate and the Executive Branch changed the political balance, and on March 10, President Biden signed into law ...
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