The Riverside County Board of Supervisors is set to allocate millions of dollars granted by the American Rescue Plan Act to homeless relief, child care, and infrastructure improvements, according to an Oct. 19 decision by the board.
The County received $479 million in ARPA funds from the federal government, according to City News Service. The first portion of the funds, a total of $240 million, was sent to the County in May, but the funds have yet to be used as officials were waiting for the final criteria on what the appropriate use of the funds would be.
Approved categories include infrastructure, homelessness, economic recovery, public health, revenue backfills for agencies impacted by COVID-19, nonprofit assistance, rental assistance and child care, CNS reported.
Juan Perez, the director of the county’s Transportation and Land Management Agency, told CNS that $65 million of the overall $479 will be used for the county’s infrastructure needs - primarily to improve broadband internet access in remote areas.
Several County officials told CNS the primary concern over the funds is how to distribute them equally - and follow through on the broad goals they set out for themselves in October with what little staff they have.
"My concern is our capacity to deliver," Supervisor Kevin Jeffries said. "We have trouble getting roads paved in a timely manner because we're spread too thin in the county. I'm not confident we have the capacity with existing staff to complete (infrastructure) projects."
Others, like Boar Chair Karen Spiegel, are concerned about how rental assistance programs under ARPA affect small-scale property owners who are operating rentals.
"Individuals can get all kinds of assistance, but landlords, like mom and pops who own units for their retirement - we're turning our backs on them and not giving them an opportunity to catch up,” Spiegel said in an interview with CNS, adding that corporate companies with rentals might be able to absorb losses, but it’s a much more difficult thing to do for individual owners operating with their own finances.
In March Congress approved $1.9 trillion to be used for the ARPA of 2021. Around $975 million was awarded to L.A. County, $270.7 million was awarded to Orange County and some $423 million was awarded to San Bernardino County.
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