Discussing options for the City's federal ARPA funding

It's a level of federal funding not seen for many years in Spartanburg, and for City Council and staff, that means the task deciding how to allocate our community's $16.5 million in American Rescue Plan: Coronavirus State & Local Recovery Funds takes on a generational significance, particularly for our low income residents. To give some structure to that discussion, City Manager Chris Story presented a framework to City Council for how those dollars could be spent at their Feb. 27 meeting. While the final figures will almost certainly change somewhat, the proposal currently would allocate $7.25 million to various efforts around housing, targeting increased homeownership in low income census tracts, boosting the supply of affordable rental units, assisting homeowners with fixed incomes in making repairs, and assisting homeless individuals in transitioning to stable living environments. Another $7.75 million would be used for college and career transition readiness, neighborhood enhancements in low income census tracts, implementing portions of the Highland Transformation Plan, funding the City Fire Department's new headquarters renovation at 450 Wofford St., and modernizing technology for the City Police Department. Today on the podcast, we're talking with Story to get a deeper look at the various ways the City's ARPA funding could be used to benefit our city for decades to come.