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WARREN -- Council members are exploring whether they should seek legislation assigning a set amount of the American Rescue Plan Act money, such as $500,000 per ward, so they can decide how best to use the funds in their areas.
Youngstown City Council last week increased the amount each council member has control of spending from $1 million to $2 million. Youngstown received $88 million in ARP funds over a two-year period.
Several Warren council members -- Greg Greathouse, D-3rd Ward, Ashley Miner, D-5th Ward and Gary Steinbeck, D-at Large -- have expressed concerns about allocating the funds in this fashion.
Warren has been assigned $28.6 million. It received $14.3 million in 2021 and is scheduled to receive $14.3 million in June. The ARP funds must be assigned to specific projects by Dec. 31, 2024, and spent by the end of 2026.
Steinbeck and Miner each noted they prefer to continue the process already established by Mayor Doug Franklin's administration of obtaining recommendations from council members and adding those to data it received through multiple surveys and community meetings held last year to determine how the ARP funds should be used.
Miner said she still is trying to evaluate the needs of the ward.
"Most wards have many of the same concerns: street and sidewalk repairs, vacant houses and high grass," Miner said. "I would like the administration to continue what it has been doing in taking information from community leaders, residents and recommendation from council members and bringing them back to council for approval."
Greathouse, council's finance committee chairman, noted Councilwoman Cheryl Saffold, D-6th Ward, had an April 1 committee meeting where the idea of allocating a specific amount to particular council members for their wards was discussed.
"We talked about having each council member being assigned a lower amount -- $500,000, for example -- instead of the $2 million discussed in Youngstown," Greathouse said.
"I would like to have another committee meeting before legislation is written and then voted on," Greathouse said.
BEING CAREFUL
Councilman Todd Johnson, D-1st Ward, said council members must be careful to make sure what they are proposing for the funds is not planned already by the administration using different funding sources.
"I would like to see a sizable amount of the money used for projects that provide generational changes that we would not have been able to do without the ARP funds," Johnson said. "We should not use the bulk of the funds for infrastructure projects. It should be used to help traditionally distressed neighborhoods that were severely impacted during the pandemic, not just to make up budget shortfalls and obtaining PPE (personal protective equipment)."
The city already has spent or set aside just more than $1.5 million for a variety of projects, including the repair of the Packard Music Hall roof, replacement of the Courthouse Square fountain, the purchase of a vaccine freezer and the purchase of snowplows for the operations department.
The city has $4.1 million of suggested projects, which includes $1 million for sidewalks and streets, $1 million in business and building grants, and $1.3 million for heating and air conditioning for government services buildings.
Councilman Ron White, D-7th Ward, said if it is decided to provide each councilman the ability to use $500,000 of the ARP funds, he would like his colleagues to consider combining their allocations to do a street and sidewalk repair program that would benefit residents on a city wide basis.
"It could provide an extra $5 million, outside of the money the city annually allocates, for street and sidewalk improvements," White said. "This would be a citywide program. This is something I've been promoting even before I was elected to council."
Former 4th Ward Councilman Greg Bartholomew said the difference between Warren and Youngstown is Youngstown only has seven ward council seats while Warren has seven ward council seats and three at-Large members.
"What if one of the at-Large council members wants to use money assigned to him in a way the ward councilman or the people living in the ward doesn't want," Bartholomew said.
HOW IT WORKS
City Auditor Vince Flask emphasized the ARP money will not be handed to the council members to spend.
"That's not how government works," he said. "My suggestion to council is to create their wish list and then turn it in to the administration to allow it to make decisions on whether the projects can be done within the guideline of the grant."
"They should turn in their requests as soon as possible," Flask said. "The projects will have to be vetted."
Councilman Mark Forte, D-4th Ward, was hesitant about having money assigned to council members because he did not want to be responsible personally for whatever amount is decided upon to be given to each ward.
"Once it was explained it must go through the auditor's office and be within the guidelines of the ARP grant, I warmed up to the idea," he said.
"Each ward is different," Forte said. "My ward, for example, has four different areas with different needs, so I will have meetings to determine the best way to use these funds."
Councilwoman Helen Rucker, D-at Large, supports the idea of council members being assigned a set amount.
"The language of the ARP bill talks about reaching people most impacted by COVID," Rucker said. "It is council members who are the most in contact with their constituents, so it makes sense they know what is needed in the neighborhoods."
Rucker suggested the at-Large council members can use their portion to support what is needed in their wards.
"I spoke to (Warren Community Development Director) Michael Keys about what can be done to help homeowners that need help in maintaining their homes," Rucker said. "Whatever is done, we have to do our due diligence and make sure the projects are feasible under the requirement of the funding sources. We must make sure the project can be maintained after the ARP funds are gone."