Worcester Reveals Plan For Using $110M Federal Stimulus Grant

Worcester MA

19 July, 2021

8:46 AM

Description

WORCESTER, MA — Worcester is getting over $110 million from the recent American Rescue Plan (ARPA) federal stimulus package, and now city officials are giving more specifics about how they might spend the money. Last month, city officials outlined six possible ways to spend the city's $110,617,389 alottment. But on Friday, City Manager Edward Augustus Jr. sent a more detailed plan to the City Council. Worcester won't get its stimulus payment all come at once. The funds are being doled out in two phases and must be spent by the end of 2024. Worcester got about half of the $110 million this spring; the next half will come in June 2022. Here's what Augustus said in a memo to Councilors about how the money would be spent. These figures include the second tranche of ARPA funds set to come next June — however, Augustus said the city is still trying to clarify whether all the items are allowed under rules outlined by the U.S. Department of the Treasury: Community Based Initiatives, $28 million total Some of this money would be sent to the Worcester Housing Authority and the Affordable Housing Trust Fund to upgrade affordable housing, including lead remediation. This slice of funds would also set aside $1.5 million for food programs, $4.5 million for creative and arts programs and $6 million for local business assistance, including marketing help. Public Health, $8.37 million total This slice would fund a wide range of initiatives, from setting up library book vending machines to buying a generator for a COVID-19 vaccine freezer. The city would also spend $300,000 on virtual programming for the senior center, $1.2 million on job training, $900,000 on youth violence prevention and $3 million on mental health services. Infrastructure, $34.5 million total The largest chunks of this category would go toward upgrading the water and sewer system (about $21 million) and upgrading public parks ($10 million). Worcester would also use about $3 million to upgrade HVAC systems in public buildings and ensure that the DCU Center would have a field hospital ready for future emergencies. Technology Improvements, $28.2 million total Worcester would use about $16 million to create an Enterprise Resource Planning System (ERP) — basically a way to run local government remotely during an emergency. Another $12 million would be devoted to studying whether Worcester could set up its own municipal broadband system, which could offer residents more reliable and cheaper internet service compared to private companies. Revenue Recovery, $15 million total ARPA does allow local governments to use stimulus funds to replace revenue lost during the pandemic. Worcester would put $5 million into the city's general fund, $7.5 million into the DCU Center, which wasn't allowed to host events during the pandemic, and $2.5 million into the municipal parking system.