Irvine Finance Commission Finalizes Pandemic Relief Funds Proposal
On September 27, 2021, Irvine’s Finance Commission held a second meeting to discuss their proposed spending plan for the $56 million dollars Irvine will receive in Federal American Rescue Plan (ARP) funds intended to be spent on those in Irvine most negatively impacted by the pandemic.
The first meeting took place on September 20, however, the commission was unable to meet quorum. In the interim, the commission received public feedback and amended the plan to reallocate five million dollars in funds toward assisting to the most vulnerable individuals, families, and small businesses. The commission unanimously approved the amended proposed plan at the special meeting held on Monday, September 27, despite efforts by Commissioner Lauren Johnson-Norris to increase the five million dollar amount to $10 million, which was not seconded by any other commissioner.
The commissioners discussed adding, “farm workers” to the vulnerable individuals list, however, it was ultimately deemed unnecessary, as the “vulnerable people” category does not necessarily leave this group out of that category.
The commission received public comment from OC Justice Fund representatives Tim Burns and Sabrina Rivera whom collectively advocated for an increased allocation of funds toward vulnerable people and toward non-profit or pro-bono legal services that go toward benefiting farm workers in Irvine.
Despite the amendment, the commission is still proposing to spend $5.2 million on drainage improvements, athletic fields, 400 tree plantings, plants, drip irrigation and an additional $6 million on a variety of traffic and mobility projects, including signal upgrades, sidewalks, and other pedestrian projects. Also, the spending plan still includes $625,000 to modernize the city’s employee fitness center and locker room, $10,000 on City Hall shower doors and $2.3 million toward city employee one-time bonuses.
On October 12, the proposal below will be presented to Irvine City Council for further discussion and finalization. This chart does not reflect the Finance Commission’s decision to shifted $5 million from the parks to helping our most vulnerable.
To view a larger image of the table below click here.
3 Comments
Lauren Johnson-Norris
September 29, 2021 at 2:28 pmThank you for covering this meeting. I voted yes but requested the minutes reflect that additional funds be allocated to our residents and small businesses most in need. I hope the council will agree. I was disheartened to hear my fellow commissioners question the need that Congress has already determined exist and complain “The County” has not done its job to care for our residents but not want to step in and help as a city. Overall, we can do so much better by our residents.
Branda Lin
September 30, 2021 at 12:44 amI sincerely hope our City Council tears this proposal into pieces at the 10/12 Council meeting. The Finance Commission’s reasons for not helping more residents and businesses was that rent relief is being handled at the state level. And so they want to use this money to cover shortfalls the city has had due to COVID. However, every city is receiving ARP money to help, among other things, their city’s immediate economic needs for households and businesses, which should be placed higher on the list of priorities than City Hall seating, gym equipment, shower doors, turf improvement, planting trees…
Our city’s first plan was to use over $40 million of this ARP money on updating Heritage Park. While this updated proposal is better, this is still an utter disappointment and the way I see it, morally irresponsible.
Woofy
October 2, 2021 at 11:56 am@Lauren, where specifically would you spend the money? Are specifics in the meeting minutes or are they exactly how described in the comment above?
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