American Rescue Plan Brings Relief To Santa Monica

SANTA MONICA, CA — President Joe Biden’s American Rescue Plan brings about $18.5 billion in local fiscal relief to California communities, including Santa Monica.

“Throughout COVID-19, local communities have been under unprecedented strain, with many having to lay off educators, firefighters, and other essential workers, or failing to provide the services communities rely on,” said Rep. Ted Lieu, who represents California’s 33rd Congressional District.

“This funding will go toward enabling local governments to continue to support the public health response, address the losses in revenues they’ve experienced as a result of this crisis, provide premium pay for essential workers to avoid layoffs, and more,” Lieu said.

Santa Monica will receive an estimated $29.3M. Estimates are based on data provided by the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The Santa Monica City Council provided initial direction earlier this month on how to allocate Santa Monica’s $29.3 million in coronavirus state and local fiscal recovery funds through the plan.

The Council directed stimulus funds to support community economic recovery, including recovery for the city's nonprofit and tenants at the Santa Monica Pier, in addition to addressing homelessness and providing community services, including reopening city facilities and services when permitted by public health orders.

The council will meet for its Biennial Budget Study Session May 25 to determine its 2021-2023 budget.

"In addition to the city’s $29.3 million in stimulus, Santa Monica residents and businesses will be bolstered by direct relief included in the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan," city officials said. The plan extends federal supplemental unemployment benefits, increases funding for the Paycheck Protection Program, provides funds for housing stabilization and to address homelessness, provides funds to help schools reopen safely, and offers relief to shuttered venues and cultural institutions, among other vital programs. The City is committed to supporting businesses in identifying and accessing available federal grants and other relief sources.

“Your Council and your City administration are focused on how to leverage the most good for the most hurting members of our community with the limited funds available, even with this very welcome stimulus,” Mayor Sue Himmelrich said in a statement.

“We will use these funds to support our arts and culture organizations and small businesses in their recovery and will continue to focus limited resources on our three community priorities through the biennial budget,” Himmelrich said.

Council directed stimulus to the following areas aligned with the Council-adopted community priorities.

• $5.86 million - Equitable and Inclusive Economic Recovery
  • Staff were directed to design a Rent Abatement Program for City tenants to provide nine months rent abatement for nonprofit City tenants; six months for small business tenants on Pier, Beach and other City property; and three to six months abatement to Bergamot and airport gallery tenants. The program will require evidence of financial hardship, as well as enrollment in the El Camino College Small Business Development Center (SBDC) business support program, and will take into account whether tenants are able to access relief from other programs available from federal, State and County programs. This also includes a rent freeze for all City tenants in FY 2021-2022.
  • $237,700 for high season Pier Ambassadors and enhanced sweeping, trash, disinfection on the Pier and beach.
  • $255,000 for small business and events grants and support in 2020-2021.
  • As part of the FY 2021-23 Biennial Budget process, Council will consider how to program the remaining American Rescue Plan funds dedicated for economic recovery.

• $6.6 million – Addressing Homelessness

• $6.35 million to support affordable housing by enabling the General Fund to make the FY 2021-22 Measure GSH payment to the Affordable Housing Trust Fund.
• A statement of intent that the General Fund will make the Measure GSH sales tax payment amount that was withheld from the Affordable Housing Trust Fund in FY 2020-21 as soon as it is able to.
• $250,000 in one-time funds for immediate (FY 2020-2021) seed funds to support efforts to pursue non-congregate shelter and behavioral health priorities as part of Addressing Homelessness community priority.

• $3.75 million – Reopen City facilities and address community priorities
  • $3 million in ongoing costs, to be programmed as part of the FY 2021-23 proposed Biennial Budget, to reopen facilities and address community priorities in the next budget. Examples of these are reopening libraries, funding a language justice program, restoring staffing for code enforcement, homelessness, and parking revenue compliance.

• $750,000 in one-time funds for enhanced federal lobbying support, a limited term park planner, the fire academy, and cybersecurity.

• $5 million - Support the Beach and Pier Funds due to severe revenue loss in FY 2020-21 and to cover new federally- and State-mandated costs in the General Fund.

For more news and information about the vaccine rollout in California, visit Patch's information hub. Also, be sure to check out How To Get The Coronavirus Vaccine In California.

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