KALAMAZOO, MI (WKZO AM/FM) – The Kalamazoo City Commissioners have begun discussing how to best use Federal COVID relief funds, and they are asking the community for input and guidance.
During a virtual Committee of the Whole meeting Monday, city officials met to discuss the funds, how they can be used, and how to best collect input from community members.
While no community members called in to this meeting with suggestions, Commissioners have said in recent weeks that they have received communications from area residents.
Under the approved policy, known as the American Rescue Plan (ARP), the City of Kalamazoo is expected to receive about $39 million in funds. The total plan provides about $350 billion to state, local and tribal governments in Michigan.
According to a presentation by City Manager Jim Ritsema and Deputy City Manager Jeff Chamberlain, the key objectives of how to use these funds are as follows:
Funding goals for the City of Kalamazoo under the American Rescue Plan. (Photo via City of Kalamazoo virtual Zoom meeting).
Under the plan, the funds could be used for challenges relating to the public health response, addressing negative economic impacts, replacing public sector revenue loss, premium pay for essential workers, making improvements to water and sewer infrastructure, and both investing in and updating broadband infrastructure.
As one example, Chamberlain said that under the public health response category, costs relating to medical expenses, vaccinations and contact tracing would be covered by these funds.
Chamberlain also said that each of these categories will be examined to make sure that the funds are used in an equitable way.
The funds could not be used to reduce net tax revenue, saved for rainy day funds, used for settlement agreements and general infrastructure spending unless otherwise noted.
“You cannot just take the money and bank it for a long-term rainy day fund,” Chamberlain said. “You cannot pay off court settlements and debt on previous projects.”
Kalamazoo will receive the funds over two separate payments, both in 2021 and 2022. Officials say the funding for 2021 has already been received, and the total payouts must be obligated by December 31, 2024, and expended by 2026 on the same day.
The City will also be required to periodically submit reports on how the money is being spent.
Chamberlain said that the money can be used in tandem with other sources of city income, such as those from the Capital Improvement Program and the Foundation For Excellence.
Partnerships can also be made with entities like the State of Michigan and Kalamazoo County on funding for some projects, such as utility relief and affordable housing.
“We may have some very large problems, but there might be ways we can tap into state funding to assist,” Chamberlain said. “There might be some overlap with what we’re trying to do and what the county is trying to do on, say, affordable housing, and how can we perhaps leverage our funds and other funds to do even bigger impact programs. So again, we just want to put it out there for the community that we don’t anticipate the City of Kalamazoo operating as an island. Really, there are other resources that we can work with partners to address community issues.”
When it comes to community input, some of the board members, including Vice Mayor Patrese Griffin, said that area residents should be given thirty days to submit thoughts. She also wanted there to be a timeline of fund distribution.
“If there could be a general ask to community, ‘what would you like to see happen with this funding,’ and ask community for what’s happening immediately, and compile all of that, and after 30 days, we as a Commission will get back together, it can be broken down into economics, housing and so forth, we can then decide, because we have a timeline here federally, what we’re going to do locally, and how we’re going to situate all of this,” Griffin said. “That way, the community is at the charge of this, they’re at the head of this, and we are just fulfilling the things that are going to be most beneficial. I realize there are a million and one really amazing things we could do, but for me, it would be easier if we had some sort of framework of how we’re going to do this, and then go to our amazing work that we need to do.”
City Manager Ritsema was in agreement.
“If we can get consensus around that [30-day period], our team can begin plotting that out, what that looks like, and maybe come back Saturday with what that would look like so the 30-day period can get started sooner than later,” Ritsema said. “As the Vice Mayor indicated, that would help inform some of the more immediate needs of the community.”
Ritsema’s team is now expected to draft plans for the thirty-day comment period. In the meantime, residents are encouraged to contact City Staff with any further suggestions or concerns.
Readers can view a recording of the meeting on YouTube at this link.
