The City of Greensboro is launching an online tool to get public input on how to spend federal pandemic relief funding.
The city will receive a total of more than $59 million from the American Rescue Plan (ARP).
The funding can be used in a variety of ways including household and small business assistance, infrastructure investments like broadband and sewer, and to offset city revenue losses. Greensboro officials say more than a thousand events were either canceled or postponed at the Greensboro Coliseum alone last year.
Sara Hancock with the city says the online tool lets users design their own budgets and is a fun way to engage the community while providing transparency.
“They can make a comment and say 'I specifically want it to go to this organization.' And that way, they can kind of tell us where they feel like they've seen the need in the community over the last year," says Hancock. "It's not just through the lens of the staff or council, it's through the lens of the community."
The information collected through the tool will be sent to the City Council for review.
Hancock says the second installment will be allocated next year. All of the funding must be spent by the end of December 2024.
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