Akron City Council, mayor dive into deep discussion of COVID relief funds, 2022 budget

If Monday's Akron City Council meeting was any indicator, Mayor Dan Horrigan can expect close examination of nearly every aspect of his plans to spend $145 million in federal COVID-19 relief funds.​​​

The city's cut of American Rescue Plan Act money took center stage this week as the mayor's office began presenting its $353 million capital budget to council — outlining plans for more than a quarter of Akron's ARPA funds in a budget presentation that's scheduled to roll out over the course of several meetings.

Several council members, who had long been advocating for greater discussion and explanation of projects and vendors attached to the stimulus spending, embraced the opportunity Monday to dig into the city’s plans.

It’s not the first time the mayor’s office has received pushback from City Council on how to allocate and spend ARPA funds.

In October, council approved a motion that allowed Horrigan to accept and spend all $145 million after a month of discussion. Five of council’s 13 members, including Nancy Holland (Ward 1), Shammas Malik (Ward 8), Tara Mosley (Ward 5), Russ Neal (Ward 4) and Linda Omobien (at-large), voted to deny Horrigan’s spending authorization without more discussion on specific costs or vendors tied to project proposals.

Malik further opposed legislation in November that approved the first $6.3 million in ARPA spending as an amendment to the 2021 budget for similar reasons.

Those sentiments resurfaced in Monday’s budget hearing, which was originally meant to cover half the proposal but was cut short for time after two-and-a-half hours of discussion.

Much of the conversation centered on housing, which the mayor has targeted as one of his six guiding issues for ARPA funds. Several council members advocated for a larger portion of stimulus money to go toward housing, questioning the specifics of other hefty ARPA investments elsewhere.

“Were it not for the ARPA dollars, I wouldn't be questioning the amount,” Omobien said as council members discussed economic development projects and a $2.3 million investment to neighborhood community development corporations. “I believe that a lot of those dollars again were sent here for us to address the needs of those that were impacted negatively by COVID… What I’d like to see at this time is to reprioritize some of these areas … I have — and many of my colleagues have — talked about this housing issue.”

Representatives from the mayor’s office were receptive to the feedback, but reiterated that they are bound to strict guidelines on how funds can be spent. The city previously hired the consulting firm Guidehouse to ensure all spending complies with legislative and administrative rules.

“At the end of the day, these are still federal funds and it’s not as easy to allocate this as some would think,” said Helen Tomic from the city’s planning department. “They are subject to oversight, they are subject to auditing, they are subject to the inspector general coming out and looking at what we do.”

A push for increased public participation

Several council members also expressed concerns about public engagement in the ARPA and budget process after one citizen appeared before Monday’s 7 p.m. general council meeting, requesting more participation and transparency throughout the process

Fran Wilson, a 26-year-old West Hill resident, asked council to schedule a public town hall in the next two weeks before passage and adoption of the budget, which must take place prior to Feb. 15 per city charter. They also advocated for increased public participation in the pitching and idea stage in future budget processes.

“We had two public hearings and no citizens were speaking at the first and I am one of — or maybe the only one — to speak tonight for a budget that is rather large and includes a lot of really, really important programming that affects a lot of people,” Wilson said.

Later in the meeting, Neal said he hopes council takes Wilson’s comments seriously.

“We can’t always create a forum that is convenient for us,” he said. “I am urging this council to do what is right and create a structure that allows our citizens to be engaged in our process.”

Prior to Council’s passage of the first round of ARPA allocation in November, Horrigan convened two virtual town hall meetings which only generated 125 views on YouTube. Each ward council member also hosted meetings in their neighborhoods. To try to increase participation, the city has also released an online form last week to gather community input and project proposal ideas.

The city also plans to launch an online dashboard in the next two months for residents to track ARPA funds.

The second budget hearing, covering water and sewer, is scheduled for Jan. 24 and will be livestreamed on Akron City Council’s YouTube page at 4 p.m. Another meeting will be scheduled to finish the first half of the budget proposal.

What are ARPA funds budgeted for?

The city received the first half of ARPA funds — about $72 million — in June 2021. The 2022 capital budget proposal earmarks half that amount for various city initiatives and projects, with large investments in housing, parks and recreation and economic development.

The city's operating budget, which is expected after the capital budget is approved, could detail even more ARPA spending in 2022 as the mayor's team has explored the possibility of using the federal funds to cushion an expected decline in income tax revenue, further stabilize finances and cover payroll or overtime for employees on the frontline of the pandemic.

The second round of funding, which comes from the American Rescue Plan Act, will be dispersed later this year. All funds must be allocated by the end of 2024 and spent by the end of 2026.

Allocation of funding is subject to change as council moves through hearings and reviews each individual proposal again throughout the year, but the following projects have been tagged with ARPA funding:

Economic development:

• Community Development Corporation support ($2.3 million; 2 million is from ARPA)

Housing and community services:

• Demolition of vacant, abandoned an/or deteriorated housing and commercial buildings ($400,000)

• New construction financing ($5 million): provide gap financing to help with down payments for new housing construction in Akron neighborhoods

• Public facilities and improvements ($250,000)

• Neighborhood revitalization and sustainability ($4.2 million; $3 mill from ARPA): Grants and loans for housing rehabilitation and/or lead paint abatement to owners of property

• Utility plumbing repairs ($500,000): assistance to qualifying customers with minor plumbing problems and fixtures that may cause water waste and higher water bills.

• AxessPointe Community Health Center ($1.2 million): federally qualified health center serving residents of Akron

Parks and recreation:

• Ed Davis Community Center ($1.1 million): rehabilitation including expansion of gymnasium

• Firestone Park Splash Pad ($250,000)

• Joy Park rehabilitation ($75,000)

• Joy Park walking path ($160,400)

• Lock 3 vision plan ($4 million; $2 million from ARPA)

• Reconstruction of Patterson Park Community Center ($2.6 million)

• Reconstruction of Perkins Park pool ($2.5 million)

• Installation of additional security cameras at city parks, community centers and Great Streets ($50,000)

• Rehabilitation of Reservoir Park Community Center with building expansion ($2.3 million)

• Reconstruction of Reservoir Park Pool ($2.5 million)

• Summit Lake Vision Plan ($4 million, $2 million is ARPA)

Water and sewer:

• University of Akron 30" Water Main Rehabilitation ‐ 2021 ($770,000)

• Water Main Replacement Program 2023 ($10 million)

Reporter Abbey Marshall is a corps member with Report for America, a national service program that places journalists into local newsrooms. Learn more at reportforamerica.org. Contact her at at amarshall1@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Akron mayor unveiling ARPA spending plans to council in budget rollout