Mosqueda Releases Schedule for Council to Consider American Rescue Plan Act Funding, Promises Robust Community Engagement

Home » Mosqueda Releases Schedule for Council to Consider American Rescue Plan Act Funding, Promises Robust Community Engagement

Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda (Position 8, Citywide) and her Council colleagues serving in the Finance and Housing Committee will spend the next three months discussing a spending plan for an anticipated $239 million the City of Seattle expects to receive in federal COVID relief dollars as part of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.  

The Council passed a resolution on March 22, 2021, outlining the Council’s priorities for the American Rescue Plan Act, which included: vaccines and testing; food assistance; homelessness and housing services, including rental assistance; immigrant and refugee support; child care; small business, worker assistance and workforce recovery; community wellbeing; transportation; and revenue replacement and financial resilience.

Continuing the discussion on the American Rescue Plan Act federal funding, the Finance and Housing Committee, with an invite sent to all nine Councilmembers, will work on passing two appropriations bills that will go into more detail on how the city will spend the additional federal funds.

“We have an opportunity to invest equitably in our communities and build towards a future Seattle with lessons learned from the COVID-19 crisis. To craft the best spending plan possible that best serves our constituents, we’ll include robust community involvement, including several community panels as part of committee, public comment, and a dedicated public hearing,” Mosqueda said.

Mosqueda aims to pass two appropriation bills for the first tranche of funding. The first will include urgent needs/services that are not fully funded in 2021 plus any proposed spending where there are shared priorities among Councilmembers and with the Executive. The second will appropriate funds for any remaining 2021 American Rescue Plan Act aid not appropriated in the first bill, including funding for specific purposes being allocated over the coming months to the City. The second tranche of funding will be addressed through the fall budget process. 

As part of the calendar, Mosqueda has included opportunities for community engagement, including 20 minutes of public comment at the beginning of each scheduled committee meeting. Additionally, there will be a dedicated public hearing on Tuesday, May 4, 2021 at 5:30 p.m.

Below is the current calendar for the Finance and Housing Committee:

DATETIMECOMMITTEE TOPICS
Tues, April 6, 20219:30 AM – 1:00 PMPresentation from other cities on their plans for use of the ARP direct Aid
Tues, April 20, 20219:30 AM – 1:00 PMCommunity Panel2021 ORD #1: Briefing
Tue, May 4, 20215:30 PMPublic Hearing
Wed, May 5, 20212:00 PM – special committee mtg if needed2021 ORD #1 amendments and possible vote
Tues, May 18, 20219:30 AM2021 ORD #1: Amendments and vote (unless voted out on 5/5)
2021 ORD #2: first discussion
Wed, June 2, 20212:00 PM – special committee mtg if needed2021 ORD #2 discussion, amendments and possible vote on amendments
Tues, June 15, 20219:30 AM -1:00 PM2021 ORD #2: Amendments + vote (unless voted out 5/2)
Wed, June 16, 20212:00 PM – special committee mtg if neededSchedule and hold for potential Finance and Housing items