Curious how Sacramento is spending COVID relief funds? City dashboard breaks it down

As of this month, the public can see how the city of Sacramento has spent and plans to invest the $112.2 million it received from the American Rescue Plan Act. 

The city launched an interactive impact hub on Dec. 15, showing it has spent about a third or $36.9 million of the federal COVID-19 relief funds. 

Sacramento must spend all its American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds by December 2026 and commit to spending plans by December 2024. Federal rules allow the city to use the funding to replace lost revenue, respond to the pandemic’s public health and economic effects, give premium pay for essential workers and invest in water, sewer and broadband infrastructure. 

The City Council in September 2021 approved Mayor Darrell Steinberg’s funding priorities for the ARPA money. The framework divided the money into five categories: 

•  $41 million for homelessness and housing
•  $29 million for the small business and commercial corridor revitalization
•  $20 million for city employees and organizational needs
•  $12 million for youth, workforce training and gang prevention
•  $10 million for arts and the creative economy 

Although the online dashboard shows the city has about $75.3 million left to spend as of Dec. 13, it has budgeted how it will spend nearly all of the funding. Under the homeless services category, the city has spent or earmarked funds for the Auburn Boulevard respite center, motel vouchers and emergency shelter spaces, according to the dashboard. 

The city has focused funding for revitalization on business corridors such as Northgate, Del Paso and Stockton Boulevards, Mack Road and downtown. The council has awarded grants as recently as November, when it approved a $2 million grant to the Sacramento Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Foundation for the Northgate business recovery program. The council also approved smaller grants to other nonprofits serving the Northgate area, such as the Stanford Settlement Neighborhood Center.

Sacramento plans to update the dashboard monthly, according to a city blog post. Special Projects Manager Ash Roughani manages the online hub. 

“We are excited to bring a new level of transparency that demonstrates how our [ARPA] dollars are making a difference in real time,” Roughani said in a city blog post. “The city is investing in programs that benefit our most vulnerable residents and addressing critical needs, including homelessness and housing, job training, and violence intervention.” 

Sacramento and other local governments that received ARPA funding must report their spending to the federal government, according to the U.S. Treasury. 

Over the past year, the city has invited organizations to apply for ARPA funding for various programs. Sacramento is accepting grant applications for an arts and cultural nonprofit recovery program through January 30. 

More information about how the city spends ARPA funding can be found on the city’s website.