Here’s how Fresno could spend $92.8M in federal coronavirus money
The Fresno City Council got its first peek Thursday at Mayor Lee Brand’s plans for the $92.8 million in federal funding the city has received to combat the coronavirus pandemic and its impact on the local economy.
The CARES Act funding the city received from the federal government would be split between $27 million for community efforts, $25 million for city efforts and $40.8 million potentially for revenue replacement and payroll coverage, according to the plan.
Councilmember Luis Chavez said he’s eager to see Zip code data, because it could mean funding should shift. That data was not yet available Thursday from the county.
The council did not vote on the plan on Thursday. Here is the proposed spending plan:
Community investment
- $7.5 million - Residential housing retention grants
- $8.19 million - Save Our Small Business grants
- $500,000 - Micro Farmers Farm to Family Grant Program
- $110,000 - Contract with Economic Development Corp. and chambers to educate business on safe practices
- $200,000 - A potential Buy Local advertising campaign
- $500,00 - Homeless transitional housing
- $2 million - Arts and culture grants
- $1.5 million - Childcare vouchers for essential workers and vulnerable populations
- $1 million - Fight domestic violence and human trafficking
- $1 million - Food assistance
City expenditures
- $8 million - Expand testing capability for residents and employees
- $2 million - Contact tracing
- $6 million - Retrofit city facilities
- $3 million - Upgrade telework technology Upgrade
- $2 million - Parks
- $1 million - Purchase personal protective equipment
- $1 million - Fire Department
- $1 million - Currently eligible city expenses
- $1 million - Future eligible city expenses
Essential city services
- $40.8 million - Hold pending further guidance from the federal government on eligible uses, including revenue replacement and expanded payroll coverage
More testing
Along with a glimpse at the plan came a separate proposed $5 million effort to do mobile testing for COVID-19 in southeast, southwest and central Fresno through a grant with UCSF Fresno, according to Tim Orman, the chief of staff for Fresno Mayor Lee Brand.
“To go into the underserved and vulnerable areas within the city that aren’t being tested to provide them with coronavirus testing,” he said, “but with that, basic health screening.”
That screening would include the kind of illnesses that compound COVID-19, like asthma, bronchitis, diabetes and hypertension, Orman said.
The council delayed the vote on the COVID-19 grant, saying the members had only had a few hours to review it before the emergency meeting.
“I think we do need to act expeditiously but be cautious at the same time,” Councilmember Esmeralda Soria said. “Too much delay can impact our response.”
The council pushed the vote to the June 18 meeting, noting an emergency meeting could be called if the vote needs to happen sooner.
Editor’s note: The council unanimously adopted the program on June 18.
This story was originally published June 11, 2020 at 5:21 PM.
