How is Pasadena spending its pandemic rescue money?
As the dust settles on the pandemic, the citys leaders are carving out how best to spend a huge infusion of cash: $52.6 million in federal rescue dollars. The first increment, $26.3 million, arrived last week fresh from Washington, D.C., part of the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act passed by Congress and signed by President Joe Biden in March. The second payment, another $26.3 million, is due in June of 2022. But heres the rub. The city isnt fully sure that the second batch will land  at least in its fullest form. Theres a growing concern across the country, from mayors and cities covering every state, that the second 50% payment could be clawed back by the federal government through legislative negotiations, Matthew Hawkesworth, the citys finance director, said in a city council meeting last week. Efforts at scaling back the funding have already begun, said officials said, who expect attempts to continue. In short, in a highly polarized environment on Capitol Hill, theres worry the city may not see that second half, and they scrambled this week to lock in what they could. At the same time, there was pushback on that scramble, as residents and elected leaders urged the city to take a much more global look on where that money is going. The federal rescue funding itself has specific baskets it must go toward. It can only be used to:  Respond to the public health emergency or its negative impacts. Provide premium pay to essential workers during COVID-19 restrictions. Cover the city for services it could not afford because of pandemic-related shortfalls in revenues. And/or for necessary investments in water, sewer or broadband infrastructure. Nevertheless, it has huge potential in a city which took sizable financial hits to sales and tourism revenue and is contemplating a nearly $900 million budget for fiscal year 2021-22  a budget that must be approved by next week. Both the citys Rose Bowl Operating Company and the Pasadena Center Operating Company saw revenues plummet during the pandemic. Everyone agrees the federal funding is badly needed. But how its allocated is more complicated. At last weeks council meeting, with budget deadlines looming, you could see the urgency forming as members honed in on a series of items  amid community pushback  to lock in the federal funding for certain city programs. Among them, for instance, was the Pasadena Convention and Visitors Bureau Tourism Recovery Plan, a $475,000 infusion for hiring three staff members as the citys hospitality industry recovers from the pandemic. Officials see the funding as vital to help nurse the citys ailing hospitality industry back to health. But several members of the public opposed it, fueling their continued push for the city to redirect money to housing programs, the Public Health Department and youth programs and away from tourism and police department capital improvements, items they say the money is not supposed to cover. They find money for business, they find money for retail, but when it comes to housing programs and funding services for the homeless, they always have difficulty finding any money or they just say they dont have any money for that, said Sonja Berndt, a housing advocate who cautioned the city against moving too fast on a wish list of items to fund with the rescue dollars. Theres never money or crumbs for the poor, the vulnerable, the marginalized.  Berndt and others urged the City Council to better integrate community voices into the discussion of what to do with the federal aid money. And Berndt lamented such funds going back into the citys general fund when, she said, departments such as Housing and Public Health get relatively little pieces of the funding pie compared to the citys Police Department. The result, she said, is that violence prevention, supportive housing, public health and community programs get squeezed. The City Council ultimately approved that $1.075 million in federal aid go toward the public health response, public health building improvements, and the Visitors Bureau funding. But council members also appeared to get the message that the decisions should not be rushed. I do think we should have a more global discussion at council, where we look not just at the council allocation, but how the county is spending their dollars, how the state is expending its dollars  for example, to rental assistance  and try to bolster areas that need bolstering, and at the same time allow the public, and the council, to have more input, Mayor Victor Gordo said at the June 14 meeting. His colleagues appeared to agree. Fifty million is a lot of money, said Councilman Andy Wilson, calling it a unique opportunity to decide how to spend it. City staff did offer a framework for future appropriations with a laundry list of items, everything from a public health fund to offsetting parking fund losses to capital improvements to housing support and infrastructure. In response, the council resolved to schedule public workshops, as the city councils finance committee also plays a role in generating a new framework. Priorities would ultimately return to the full City Council for approval. One apparent advantage is that most of the federal funds dont have to be budgeted yet, though there are deadlines in the federal legislation. The good thing is, a number of us pushed back, Berndt said.  We said, no, lets have an overall strategy and not a piecemeal thing. We need to have some kind of public outreach, where the public can submit comments.