Santa Ana is about to get $143 million; how will that be spent?

Santa Ana stands to get an estimated $143 million from new federal stimulus money – a sum that has excited local officials who have begun to consider how they will spend the windfall.

“This is a once in a century kind of thing,” Santa Ana Mayor Vicente Sarmiento said.

Across Orange County, other cities also will see an infusion of new money thanks to the $1.9 trillion pandemic relief bill President Biden signed last week.

Anaheim estimates its share will be about $107 million, the second highest in Orange County after Santa Ana’s allocation.  Garden Grove and Huntington Beach each stand to receive more than $50 million. For Huntington Beach and Fullerton, their allocation is estimated at close to $31 million and $35 million, respectively, according to information put out by the U.S. Senate Democrats. Villa Park, the county’s smallest city, is slated to receive $1.09 million.

There are rules on how the money can be spent, including to offset pandemic-related costs and for water, sewer and broadband infrastructure projects. Santa Ana officials said they are awaiting detailed spending guidelines. The funds need to be used by December 2024.

In Santa Ana, the City Council got their first chance Tuesday night to talk publicly about what the infusion of new money could mean.

“I don’t want us to think small. This is a moment to thing bigger,” Sarmiento said. “If you have a magic wand, what would you dream of?”

Sarmiento suggested a multi-faceted approach to improve the lives of residents. That could include, he said, payments to needy residents suffering from the pandemic’s effects, with maybe a voucher or debit card they could spend in the city. Sarmiento also wants officials to consider tapping the funds to improve  broadband accessibility, repair antiquated infrastructure, and offer residents and businesses additional COVID-19 financial help, including rent relief for both tenants and landlords.

Sarmiento also wants the Latino-majority city, the hardest hit by COVID-19 in Orange County, to consider creating its own health department.

This past year, during the pandemic, “the county didn’t handle the needs and the problems that Santa Ana has,” Sarmiento told colleagues. Cities like Long Beach, which has its own health department, did a better job for its residents, he said.

“We had to scream and shout and beg and plead,” Sarmiento said. “Long Beach is a model for the entire nation.”

Councilwoman Jessie Lopez also said she liked the idea of creating a city health department.

Council members Thai Viet Phan and David Penaloza said the money could help the city build more parks or acquire new properties for more green space in a city that’s considered one of the densest in the country.

Penaloza, meanwhile, cautioned that the money constitutes one-time funds: “They will go very quickly.”

Councilman Phil Bacerra suggested focusing on prioritizing investment in services for residents.

The sum of $143 million constitutes a nearly 44 % boost to the city’s 2020-21 $326 million general fund budget.

About half of the city’s stimulus money is expected to be available in two months, with the rest coming later in the year, Sarmiento said. City officials said the money can help address the inequalities of the pandemic through additional community outreach and education. It also could be used to offer assistance programs, improve access to permanent housing for homeless people, revitalize infrastructure and help the city recover from losses incurred over the past year.

City Manager Kristine Ridge called it “a watershed moment.”

The city has dubbed its recovery program, “Revive Santa Ana.” In a release issued Wednesday, city officials said the federal funds will allow them to “reimagine the services” Santa Ana provides.

Under an earlier stimulus plan, Santa Ana received $28.6 million via the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, also known as the CARES Act. The city spent part of that money by offering testing and resources to residents across Santa Ana through a mobile resource center. The city also offered various forms of financial assistance, including hotel vouchers to help separate people from family members who contracted the virus, and rental assistance to both residents and landlords.

One ticket item the funds cannot be used for is paying down pension obligations. In a related matter, the City Council took steps Tuesday night toward refinancing Santa Ana’s pension debt. The council adopted a resolution authorizing the issuance of bonds to refund some of the city’s pension obligations.

Orange County Register/SCNG staff writer Ian Wheeler contributed to this report.

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