Santa Barbara City Council approves second half of $21.8 million ARPA allocation

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The Santa Barbara City Council on Tuesday approved the second half of the city's $21.8 million American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) allocation.

The city was allocated the funds in 2021 to offset the financial impacts created by the COVID-19 pandemic and help stimulate local economic recovery.

In May 2019, the city approved the first tranche of $10.9 million that went to the General Fund to partially offset lost tax and departmental revenues in order to continue to provide essential services to the public, said Keith DeMartini, the city's finance director.

The city council on Tuesday approved the distribution of the second tranche of the funding, with roughly $1 million allocated to the General Fund and approximately $1.5 million to the Downtown Parking Fund to replace some of the lost revenue caused by the pandemic, DeMartini said.

The council also allocated nearly $8.4 million to offset additional costs and address other COVID-19 impacts such as State Street cleaning, the State Street Master Plan, rental housing outreach, Parks and Recreation and Public Works maintenance projects, and pandemic pay for employees who worked throughout the pandemic.

The city is scheduled to receive the $10.9 million in May.