Columbia City Council considers ideas for American Rescue Plan money
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
The Columbia City Council considered how it might spend $25 million it received from the federal government.
The discussion came as the council prepares to vote on its budget for fiscal year 22. Money from the American Rescue Plan makes up a small percentage of the money the council has to appropriate, but many have called for the council to invest in areas it often hasn't while addressing the COVID-19 pandemic.
The council discussed how it might use the money to address homelessness in town. Citizen surveys have shown housing as a priority for council consideration. The draft plan put together by city staff for ARPA funding shows $3 million to be spent on the issue. The Voluntary Action Center has asked for ARPA funds to help with its Opportunity Campus for people experiencing homelessness, including a shelter. The group said it needs $5 million to establish it.
Council members debated the best way to use that money. Mayor Brian Treece said $3 million may be too costly. He said that the city needed to ensure whatever it spent money on got results in addressing the problem.
"I think there are some unique needs for that that I think the city should be a partner in," Treece said. "And I think the county needs to be a partner in that, and I think the private sector needs to be a partner in that."
First Ward councilwoman Pat Fowler said the city needed to spend enough money to make whatever program it invested in successful. That applied to other city ideas for ARPA investment, including mental health services and community violence prevention.
"If we put the added stress on right now an unnamed person to make all those connections and bring all those things together, there's a chance that it will fall apart," Fowler said.
City Manager John Glascock revealed his plan for spending at a July 29 news conference. The $474 million budget calls for a 3 percent pay increase for all employees and adding 38 new positions to the city. The government is still down employee positions from cuts made back in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic. Glascock said the city was in a "fine financial position," expecting to take in $443 million for the fiscal year which begins Oct. 1.
The council held its first public hearing on the budget on August 16. It will hold two more hearings scheduled for Sept. 7 and Sept. 20 before possibly voting on it on Sept. 20.
The health department also asked for more money to keep on some temporary positions. Assistant director Scott Clardy said the department needed to keep the case investigators hired to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic due to the recent surge created by the Delta variant. Clardy said the $1.2 million needed would be paid for by grants and the county, as well.
