Relief Funds Received at Last
Jun 11, 2021 12:00AM ● By City of Citrus Heights
Share your community engagement ideas; the City wants feedback from residents. Photo: City of Citrus Heights
Finance Committee Still Interpreting Treasury’s Spending Policies
CITRUS HEIGHTS, CA (MPG) - The City of Citrus Heights received its first tranche of Federal ARPA funds for COVID-19 recovery on Wednesday, May 19, 2021, and staff met with the City Council Finance Committee to discuss preliminary interpretation of the Treasury’s spending policies and share community engagement ideas.
Citrus Heights staff applied for the ARPA funds as soon as applications opened and the City is one of the first in the region to actually receive its funding. The first half of the one-time COVID-19 relief funds comes to $7,838,486 for Citrus Heights, with the second payment anticipated in May 2022.
“I’m proud of how hard our finance team has worked on both the application and our preliminary ARPA spending guideline interpretation,” said interim City Manager Chris Boyd. “In the wake of our current budget situation, this Federal support is exciting, but these are a one-time funds with very specific guidelines. Staff are working diligently to seek clarification to ensure Citrus Heights leverages the recovery funds as best we can. A huge part of our efforts will include engaging the community — a process that needs to start with education, so everyone can weigh-in on realistic spending options.”
The City’s finance team is working with Congressman Ami Bera’s office and the Treasury to get clearer direction on ARPA spending regulations, in hopes of launching a community engagement campaign to outline applicable spending opportunities, receive feedback, and more.
“In this early stage, there are still a lot of questions yet to be answered and complicated calculations for us to run,” said Interim Administrative Services Director Bill Zenoni, who is head of the City’s Finance Department. “Governments nationwide are trying to interpret the 151-page interim guidelines issued by the U.S. Treasury and the financial consequences of spending the funds incorrectly would be serious to the City.”
With more information to come as updates are released from the Treasury, Citrus Heights community members are encouraged to follow the City’s social media channels, subscribe to its e-newsletter, and watch bi-monthly Council meetings, in order to stay up-to-date. Visit CitrusHeights.net/StayConnected to follow, subscribe, and tune-in.