It will be the last – and possibly best – time for city residents to give their input on how the city could best utilize federal American Rescue Plan Act funds. The federal program, passed by Congress to aid cities and towns that suffered during the height of the COVID pandemic, and is to be used to fund projects that would be beneficial to the community.
A special meeting of the City Council has been scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 23 at 6 p.m. in the West Haven High School Auditorium. The meeting is called under Rule 11 of the City Council Rules, and is co-sponsored by Mayor Nancy Rossi.
“West Haven City Council and Mayor Rossi invite city residents to attend a council meeting at the ew West Haven High School. The purpose of the meeting is to hear input from city residents on the spending of ARPA funds. All public comments will be considered for the final spending plan,” the call of the meeting states.
Along with the council and Rossi, newly appointed members of the ARPA committee, a panel established last month to oversee the expenditures, will be in attendance, headed by its chairman Ken Carney. Members of the committee include Christopher Barstein, Neil C. Cavallaro, Iris Diaz, Kenneth Ferris, Dwight Knowles (vice-chairman), Michael P. Last, Gary M. Perdo and Rohan Smith
In addition to the public meeting, residents are invited to take a guided tour of the new high school, which has been under construction for three years, and is set to be officially dedicated in the fall.
The city was awarded $29 million, while the Board of Education is getting its own share to the tune of and additional $20 million. So, projects considered will be city-oriented, while the BOE will map out its own spending plan.
This is the second meeting in which public input was requested. Tuesday, the mayor conducted a Town Hall-style meeting looking for ideas on how to allocate the funds. City officials emphasize the meeting on Feb. 23 will be the last such meeting and are urging interested residents to attend.
Under Treasury Department guidelines, the city can utilize four categories when determining allocation of funds:
~~ To respond to the public health emergency or its negative economic impacts, including assistance to households, small businesses, and non-profits, or aid to impacted industries such as tourism, travel, and hospitality;
~~ To respond to workers performing essential work during the COVID-19 public health emergency by providing premium pay to eligible workers;
~~ For the provision of government services to the extent of the reduction in revenue due to the COVID-19 public health emergency relative to revenues collected in the most recent full fiscal year prior to the emergency; and,
~~ To make necessary investments in water, sewer, or broadband infrastructure.
These categories, however, seem to be broad in scope, and allow municipalities discretion in use for capital expenditures.
Uses not allowed under the law are:
~~ Depositing funds into any pension fund;
~~ Directly or indirectly offset[ting] a reduction in the net tax revenue of [the] State or territory resulting from a change in law, regulation, or administrative interpretation.
A summary of the law may be found at: ttps://www.wittobriens.com/resources/summary-of-treasurys-american-rescue-plan-act-final-rule-guidelines.
Face masks will be required for the meeting.