How the City of Rochester plans to use its latest allocation of federal stimulus funds
The City of Rochester has a framework for how it plans to spend much of the $17.4 million it received as a result of the American Rescue Plan.
The plan, as presented this week by City Administrator Alison Zelms, calls for putting $6.2 million into a variety of new programs — from investments in hybrid and remote working to more than $2.5 million in improvements to the Rochester Public Library. Other line items include costs associated with waiving liquor license fees, making pools free through the summer, and adding an extra hour of free parking in the downtown ramps.
Zelms says the city also plans to use an additional $7.4 million in federal funds to make up for lost revenue due to the pandemic — bringing the total first phase of investment approved by the City Council to $13.6 million.
In total, the city has $22.4 million in federal funds available for expenditures, including $5 million left over from the 2020 CARES Act. The remaining allotment of stimulus money remaining after this first phase of investments — $8.9 million — will go toward other priorities, as needed.
In an interview on Thursday, Zelms noted that the latest round of federal stimulus allows for funds to be used through 2024, enabling the city to consider a broad range of short- and long-term needs.
“It gives us the ability to look at resilience and recovery,” said Zelms. “So rather than just the mitigation of impacts during the pandemic, which was the prior funding that was received, this is actually focused on economic recovery, as well as revenue losses that impact city services.”
With 2022 budget talks set to pick up, Zelms says she hopes to “spread out” financial impacts without causing service disruptions or property tax hikes. The council is scheduled to continue its budget discussion on Monday.
“We want to be resilient as we come out of this,” said Zelms. “We do not want to continue to push any challenges forward.”
Sean Baker is a Rochester journalist and the founder of Med City Beat.
