City Council Committee on Boston's COVID-19 Recovery on Dockets #0503 #0504 #0511 #0640 #0652

Message and order authorizing the City of Boston to accept and expend the amount of Three Hundred Forty Nine Million Five Hundred Thousand Dollars ($349,500,000.00) in the form of a grant, awarded by the United States Department of Treasury, to be administered by the City of Boston’s Chief Financial Officer/Collector Treasurer, from the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund (CSLFRF) in the Treasury of the United States established by Section 9901 of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA), and pursuant to the requirements of the ARPA, the grant payment would fund COVID-19 response and recovery efforts and accelerate a Green New Deal for Boston through once-in-a-generation, transformative investments that address the systemic health and economic challenges in the areas of affordable housing, economic opportunity and inclusion, behavioral health, climate and mobility, arts and culture and early childhood.

Message and order authorizing the City of Boston to accept and expend the amount of Forty Million Dollars ($40,000,000.00) in the form of a grant, awarded by the United States Department of the Treasury to be administered by the City of Boston’s Chief Financial Officer/Collector Treasurer, from the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund (CSLFRF) in the Treasury of the United States established by Section 9901 of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA), and pursuant to the requirements of the ARPA the grant payment would fund provision of government services to the extent of the reduction in revenue of such State, territory, or Tribal government due to the COVID-19 public health emergency relative to revenues collected in the most recent full fiscal year of the State, territory or Tribal government prior to the emergency.

Order for a hearing to utilize federal COVID recovery funds to construct municipal composting infrastructure.

Order for a hearing on appropriating federal relief funds to stabilize and expand public sector personnel capacity beyond pre-pandemic levels.

Order for a hearing to discuss utilizing American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding to improve digital equity in the City of Boston.

These matters were sponsored by the Administration (#0503 #0504), Councilors Kenzie Bok, Frank Baker, and Kendra Lara (#0511), Councilor Liz Breadon (#0640), and Councilors Kenzie Bok, Julia Mejia, and Ed Flynn (#0652). The dockets were referred to the Committee on April 13, 2022, and May 18, 2022.

NOTICE:  The Boston City Council may have a quorum in attendance due to standing committees of the City Council consisting of both voting and non-voting members.  However, members attending this duly posted meeting are participating and deliberating only in conjunction with the business of the standing committee.

Public Testimony

Members of the public are cordially invited to attend and testify in person or virtually.  If you have not testified at a Council hearing before, please arrive five (5) minutes before the call of the hearing to sign up and become familiar with the hearing format, testimony locations and sound system.  Please bring fifteen (15) copies of any written documentation you wish to present at the hearing.  The public may also watch this hearing via live stream at www.boston.gov/city-council-tv. Members of the public wishing to testify virtually via videoconference should email the staff contact for a link and instructions to do so. Written comments may be sent to the Committee or staff email (below) and will be made a part of the record and available to all Councilors.

Staff Contact: Michelle A. Goldberg

Committee Email:  ccc.covid19@boston.gov 

Staff Email:  michelle.a.goldberg@boston.gov   Staff Telephone:  (617) 635-3040

Broadcast Live on Xfinity 8/RCN 82/ Verizon 964 and streamed at: boston.gov/city-council-tv