AN ORDINANCE related to the City’s response to the COVID-19 crisis; amending Ordinance 126237, which adopted the 2021 Budget, including the 2021-2026 Capital Improvement Program (CIP); accepting funding from non-City sources; changing appropriations to various departments and budget control levels, and from various funds in the 2021 Budget; revising project allocations for certain projects in the 2021-2026 CIP; imposing provisos; and ratifying and confirming certain prior acts.
The Report of the Finance and Housing Committee Agenda Item three Council Bill 120151 related to the city's response to the COVID 19 crisis. Amending Ordinance 126237, which adopted the 2021 budget, including the 2021 2026 Capital Improvement Program. The committee recommends that the bill pass. Thank you. Councilor Mosquito, as chair of the committee, recognized in order to provide the committee report. Thank you, President. Pro tem. Colleagues. As you'll recall, we passed the first part of the Seattle rescue plan in council bills, 120093 and Council Bill 120094. We passed this first package of the Seattle rescue plan on June 21st, 2021. This was intended to be the first of three acts in 2021 to address the crisis that COVID is presenting and to deploy federal dollars that have been made available to the city to make sure that we're responding to the urgent needs that have only been made worse by COVID and have been created by this pandemic as well. The first package of bills authorizes spending of about $120 million in 2021 to support Seattle's recovery efforts from COVID 19 backfill revenue. And we also authorized $25 million to provide direct cash assistance to households, specifically households directly affected by the effects of COVID and who are largely our bipoc community. I'm really proud of the first proposal that we passed, and this is our second act of three acts this year that will be in response to the federal dollars that the city has received. The Seattle rescue plan number two here follows up with the first investments by authorizing spending of now over $52 million for targeted aid, for rental assistance programs, to support seniors and to help invest in transportation projects and services. We're going to follow up this legislation this fall with additional funding from ARPA. The American Rescue Plan Act with another $128 million. And that will be taken up during the fall budget process. I want to thank all of you for your work on the first iteration of our Seattle Rescue Plan Act one effort and make sure that you all know how important it is that these dollars are getting out. I've received a number numerous emails from folks talking about the assistance that they've received as small business owners or support that folks have received as childcare providers, and also the direct assistance that we are continuing to try to get out the door for our arts and cultural community. So thank you again for all of the work that you've done. Today's council bill again calls for 120150, provides now $28.7 million more for rental assistance, $7.7 million in direct assistance for seniors to deal with isolation, abuse and neglect. $13.5 million for specific transportation projects that were largely predetermined by our federal partners, as we are working to act as a pass through for that. And Michael Hall, who has been awarded $2.1 million from the Seattle Business Association excuse me, administration to address the shuttered venues grant application that they received. Colleagues, again, $5.2 million. And I want to thank members of central staff for their hard work on this, along with all of you, and sit in my office as we work to get these dollars out the door as soon as possible. Thank you. Councilmember Mesquita. Any other comments on Council 120150 item three on the agenda. Yes, Councilmember. Or is this item secret only? Thank you for recognizing me. Council President Alex Peterson. Just really quick, I want to say Castro mosquito. This has been a lot of hard work with this ARPA money and thank you for going behind the scenes and talking to us, at least talking to us individually and as a team. Where the money was going, how we were targeting it, and what our needs and concerns were. So I really, really appreciate that you are consensus space and always look for that middle ground for us to be practical and actually get across the finish line. So thank you. I'm done. Thank you. Any other comments on counts? 4120150 item three on our agenda. Okay. Well, the clerk please call the role on the passage of the bill. Lewis. Yes. Morales. Morales. Yes. Thank you, Macheda. I so want. Yes. Strauss. Yes. Herbal. Yes. Boris. I and council president Peterson. High. Eight in favor and unopposed. The bill passes and the chair will sign it. Will the clerk please fix my signature to the legislation on my behalf? Will the clerk please read the short title of item four into the record?