How Do You Want EL City Government to Spend Covid Relief Money?
The City of East Lansing has already received half of its $12.2 million in Covid relief funds through the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 – and the rest should be deposited in May 2022 – but City officials and City Council have until Dec. 31, 2024, to “obligate” those funds.
How would you like to see that money spent?
City Manager George Lahanas proposed a draft plan at the Oct. 12 meeting of City Council. The plan included construction repairs and upgrades at City Hall, the East Lansing Public Library, the Hannah Community Center, and Fire Station 1; support for homeowners and small business owners; and parking lot updates both downtown and at parks throughout the City.
But, Lahanas stated, the plan will not be finalized until additional feedback is solicited from both Council and the community.
ELi has now created a dedicated survey to solicit feedback on what our readers would like to see done with the ARPA funds. Once we close the survey, we will share the results with the City Manager and Council.
As you complete the survey, please keep in mind that there are limitations on how the money can be spent. In his presentation, Lahanas said that funds can be used to:
- respond to the pandemic or its negative economic impacts, including by giving financial assistance to others;.
- provide extra pay for eligible workers;
- reimburse the City government for revenue lost due to Covid;
- enact “necessary investments in water, sewer or broadband infrastructure.”
You can see the slides of his presentation here and ELi’s report on the draft plan here.