City committee approves amended $124M ARPA plan

THE PROVIDENCE CITY COUNCIL FINANCE COMMITTEE on Thursday approved an amended version of Mayor Jorge O. Elorza's plan to spend $124 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds. / PBN FILE PHOTO/CHRIS BERGENHEIM

PROVIDENCE – More money will go to community recreation centers, with less available for small-business programs under the amended version of the city American Rescue Plan Act budget approved by the city finance committee on Thursday.

The panel’s 3-0 vote to send the $124 million spending plan to the full council for review and approval is the latest in a multi-step, public process used to determine how the capital city should spend its tranche of federal funds. While the bottom-line dollar figure has not changed, how much money should go to business, tourism and infrastructure has shifted along the way.

The committee vote on Thursday tweaks the version that was introduced by Mayor Jorge O. Elorza, which was based on an earlier set of recommendations from a special task force formed to gather public feedback and create a spending plan.

Among the biggest changes is more money for community recreation centers, with 12 more locations added to the list and funding per location doubled from $33,000 to $66,000. The amended version also adds $3 million in a capital investment fund for recreation centers and $250,000 for a food security grant program while increasing money for Providence Community Library and services for the elderly.

- Advertisement -

In exchange, funds set aside for small businesses and economic recovery were cut nearly in half, from Elorza’s original $5.3 million to $2.8 million. The latest version also reduces grant money for cultural facilities, cybersecurity and IT infrastructure, and downtown open space, while totally removing a $2 million allocation for the Providence Promise program.

The spending cuts do not necessarily mean that the industries and programs will lose out on funding, but rather, that the city found other sources of money to give to them, said James Lombardi, city treasurer and council chief of staff.

A line item adding $3 million for the Fox Point Hurricane Barrier was also taken out, but that money will still be set aside for the same purpose, but instead shifted to the general “revenue recovery” line, Lombardi said.

The $36.8 million in revenue recovery – up from $28 million set aside in Elorza’s proposal – also includes money for the Roger Williams Park Zoo and infrastructure, Lombardi said.

And while there have been some adjustments, many of the priorities of Elorza’s original plan remain in-tact: a $10 million fund for racial reparations, for example. The original $28 million in affordable housing and homelessness programs was also preserved, with another $2.6 million added for the Providence Redevelopment Agency for a “facilities development program.”

“Just about everything proposed in original admin budget has been maintained,” Councilwoman Jo-Ann Ryan, who chairs the finance committee, said.

The changes were made as a “joint effort” by the council and administration as a result of shifting priorities and other funding opportunities for some programs, according to Sara Silveria, city finance director.

The committee’s amended spending plan also includes $300,000 for an auditor to oversee how the money gets distributed.

The plan now moves to the full city council for review and final approval.

The $123.8 million total does not include $42.8 million of ARPA funds the city doled out in 2021 to fill budget gaps and support programs, including grants for small businesses and  the continuation of WaterFire Providence. 

Federal law requires the funds be allocated by the end of 2024 and spent by the end of 2026.

Nancy Lavin is a PBN staff writer. You may reach her at Lavin@PBN.com.

No posts to display