U.S. funds will boost services
With $20 million from the American Rescue Plan Act and higher-than-expected revenues in 2021, Boulder intends to restore a number of services that were cut during the pandemic and hire additional staff so it can do so.
Due to the financial impact of the pandemic, the city was forced to eliminate staff positions, defer capital projects, offer fewer in-person services and reduce maintenance.
Largely because of this, some $2 million of the federal dollars has been designated as gap funding for immediate needs, staff shared Tuesday in a Boulder City Council study session.
The largest need is within the city’s Recreation Activity Fund, according to Senior Manager of Economic Vitality and Business Services Mark Woulf. Pending official City Council approval, the Parks and Recreation department is set to receive $600,000 in ARPA funds.
“We would use the funds we receive to increase recreation center hours, aquatic operations, health and wellness classes, and age-based subsidy,” spokesperson Jonathan Thornton said in an email. “We would also restore funding to youth programming in the areas of child care, swim lessons, EXPAND and Youth Services Initiative (YSI) programming.”
When considering how to spend more than $15 million set aside for longer-term projects, councilmembers agreed that staff is generally on the right track in focusing on public
health and safety, affordability and service access, and community and economic resiliency.
Compared to the CARES Act, the first round of federal funding that was distributed in 2020, ARPA dollars can be used for a broader range of purposes, and Boulder has more time to spend the money. This round of funding must be committed by 2024 and spent by 2026, whereas CARES Act dollars had to be spent or returned by the end of 2020.
Because of this, Boulder says it wants to be thoughtful about the way in which it spends the money, Woulf said Tuesday.
“We want to take time to leverage those dollars,” he said.
This long-term funding could lead to expanded mental and behavioral health services, equitable access to city utilities and services in underserved areas of Boulder and planning for phase two of the city’s community fiber project, which would expand broadband connectivity in the city.
In terms of projects such as these, several councilmembers advocated for using funding to support new projects.
“I think it’s perfectly fine to stand up some … new pilot programs with some of this funding,” Councilmember Aaron Brockett said. “Particularly the area of substance abuse and mental health treatment; these are areas of deep underinvestment in our society and our community. They’re whole categories of services that we don’t offer in this area.”
The city also is recommending setting aside $1 million for public health needs and another $1 million for emerging needs, given the uncertain nature of the future.
“Everything seems to change daily,” Woulf said.
While councilmembers agreed with this, several recommended narrowing potential uses for the $1 million that will be set aside for any emerging needs. They argued it’s particularly important to do so ahead of electing a new City Council later this year.
In addition to the federal funding, Boulder is doing better than expected in terms of revenue. The city expects to bring in about $157 million, some $10 million more than it budgeted for, according to information presented in Tuesday’s study session.
As such, it’s planning to adjust its budget in order to use city funds to bring back staff members and services cut during the pandemic.
Boulder’s public library system, for example, is set to receive $258,387 to fund a manager, specialists, materials handlers and librarians for the George Reynolds and Meadows Branch libraries as well as a bilingual specialist at the Nobo Corner Library. The library will receive an additional $38,295 to fund a library operations resources manager to oversee systemwide public services.
The city’s initial 2022 budget will be released next week and is scheduled to come before the Council in September.