$1.9 trillion Covid-19 economic relief package to provide millions to the Central Coast
CENTRAL COAST, Calif. (KION) The $1.9 trillion American rescue plan is expected to provide millions of dollars in funding to the Central Coast.
Santa Cruz County is expected to receive $52,987,979, Monterey County $84,183,458 and San Benito County $12,181,225.
"This is the federal assistance that we've been waiting for," said Monterey County District 1 Supervisor Luis Alejo.
The city of Salinas is expected to receive about $50 million, Seaside with $8 million, and Monterey with $6 million. Cities with a population of less than 50 thousand will not receive the funds directly from the federal government, but rather from the state. The money will give Monterey County the opportunity to continue to offer resources to impacted residents and will be able to replace funds that were lost due to the pandemic, said Alejo.
"To continue services out in the community,” said Alejo. “We have programs such as rental assistance, utility assistance, hotels that are being used to quarantine people while they're recovering. Providing food to the food bank. There are so many services that we've done that we've championed, that we've provided to our community that I think is still going to be needed in these months ahead and we're in a good position now."
The Santa Cruz County Supervisor Zach Friend said this funding will help restore hours that have been cut from a number of county employees, including frontline public health employees. This will also help restore some county programs that had to be put on hold, including maintenance for county parks and help for the hospitality industry.
“So to have federal government intervention, to have state government intervention helps prop up those services that we've seen 30, 40, 50% increases in need over the last year,” said Friend. “But we've also seen 20, 30, 40, and 50% decreases in revenue at the exact same time. So this is an absolute lifesaver, not just for the county but in particular the residents that have been relying on county services over the last year due to the pandemic.”
According to the City of Santa Cruz, they’re planning to fill the hole in their budget. This will allow them to not have to make as deep of cuts as expected. They also said they can try to work on developing strategies for greater revenue in the coming years.
"We're aiming for a status quo budget,” said Santa Cruz City Communications Manager Elizabeth Smith. “So that means that residents will receive the same services tomorrow as they do today, because of this infusion of money from the feds."
In a statement provided to KION, Salinas Mayor Kimbley Craig said, they are thrilled to be receiving this funding.
"The decision of how this funding will be spent will be directed by the city council, but I can assure you the focus will be on high-impact, very visible results for our residents," Mayor Craig wrote.
