Seattle City Council approves plan to spend $128 million in federal COVID-19 relief funds

By

Seattle Times reporter

Nearly $ 130 million in federal COVID-19 aid will go to Seattle residents, programs and businesses under a spending plan approved by the city council on Monday.

Almost all of the money will come from the American Rescue Plan Act, which President Biden signed in March, with an additional $ 12 million from another federal source. The vote on Monday was 9-0.

“This is our chance to build better and fairer,” said Councilor Teresa Mosqueda.

Mayor Jenny Durkan worked with council presidents last month to draft the plan and the council made minor adjustments. For example, the council allocated some economic recovery funds to art institutions and reserved a larger portion of the business district grants for neighborhoods outside the inner city.

Durkan will sign the spending bill.

“Just as Seattle leads the nation in testing and vaccination, I believe Seattle can lead the nation in building,” she said in a statement.

Seattle’s plan is:

• $ 49 million in housing and homelessness efforts, including property purchase, tiny homes, camp outreach, and vehicle-safe land
• $ 25 million in cash aid to pandemic-hit Seattle households
• $ 23 million for economic recovery, including small business grants
• $ 17 million for other benefits, including childcare allowances
• $ 14 million for city operations, including the opening of paddling pools in parks

Durkan and the council decided to split the federal funds among many efforts. In any event, the dollars will be directed to people disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 crisis, including black, indigenous and Latin American people.

Mayoral candidate Bruce Harrell criticized the approach, arguing that most of the money should be used to tackle homelessness. Housing and homelessness will receive more funding than any other area, countered the mayor and city council.

You said Seattle’s plan would complement King County’s spending. The county council last month approved $ 631 million in relief spending, large sums of money going towards rental support and behavioral health.

In contrast to the budget battles last year, the vote in the town hall on Monday sparked little controversy. This time, Durkan and the council reached a consensus, said city council president and mayoral candidate M. Lorena González.

Seattle will receive a second tranche of $ 116 million under the American Rescue Plan Act for spending in 2022.

Daniel Beekmann:
206-464-2164 or dbeekman@seattletimes.com; on Twitter: @dbeekman. Seattle Times reporter Daniel Beekman covers the Seattle city government and local politics.