Salt Lake City

Mayor's Office

Erin Mendenhall | (801) 535-7704

Mayor Erin Mendenhall gives overview of Salt Lake City’s plans for expected American Rescue Plan Act Funding

SALT LAKE CITY — Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall announced today that the City will invest most of its American Rescue Plan ACT allocation into an equitable, sustainable COVID recovery for the community with the help and input from residents.

“We want to support your access to a good job, we want to support your business and your ability to launch new businesses. We want your kids to have positive, safe, engaging after school programming and mentorship,” Mayor Mendenhall said. “This sum isn’t merely a helping hand, it’s a slingshot that will thrust us forward in our pursuit of an equitable and evolutionary recovery.”

President Biden’s American Rescue Plan Act will deploy $87 million dollars directly to Salt Lake City. This funding will come in two batches, and the City anticipates the first portion next month. The City is still waiting for guidelines from the United States Treasury Department identifying more precisely how the money can be spent. Cities expect to have greater flexibility with this funding than they were given with previous COVID-related federal aid packages.

The City’s strategy for spending the funds will follow three guiding principles:
Equitable Economic Recovery
Resident Stability and Opportunity
City Services for Employees and Residents

Another major component of the planning for how the funds will be spent will come through public engagement.

“You, the residents of Salt Lake City, are an integral part of this process,” Mayor Mendenhall said. “In addition to the information we’ve collected from community partners over this past year, we’ll solicit feedback from the community on priority needs so that this funding will make a truly meaningful impact on our residents’ quality of life.”

The funding will build on the work the City started in the last year to expand equity and bridge gaps in the community. COVID relief already helped jump-start many important efforts, including vast improvements in digital equity and the rollout of the City’s apprenticeship program.

“This is an incredible opportunity to do so much good, both immediate and in the long term,” Mayor Mendenhall said. “In the years to come, I want Salt Lakers to be able to look around their neighborhood, and around their city, and see the results of the investments we’ll start making soon in an equitable COVID recovery with this federal aid.”

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