Salt Lake City to receive $85 million in American Rescue Plan funding

Salt Lake City has been designated to receive nearly $85 million from the American Rescue Plan, the $1.9 trillion economic stimulus package sponsored by the Biden administration and passed into law in March. The money will arrive in two installments over the next year, Mayor Erin Mendenhall announced last week.

Mendenhall said that while most of the money will go to keeping city staffers employed, she has some ideas for some of the money which she said will help students and families, calling the windfall a “once-in-a-generation opportunity.”

The mayor proposed that approximately $55 million of the grant be used to replace revenue lost during the pandemic and to pay city employees. Another $10 million should go to childcare and early education at the state’s workforce training center, she said, while $4 million would go to a community grant pool for community-based organizations and local businesses.

Mendenhall’s wish list also includes money for a Westside Community Land Initiative, a public parks ranger program, homelessness programs and homeless shelter operations.

City officials have studied the provisions of the American Rescue Act to understand how the money may be spent. Salt Lake City Council will now begin the process of approving the expenditures.