Those discussions will help avoid programs or groups receiving money from multiple sources — such as the city, county and state — and help it be spread to as many as those impacted by the coronavirus as possible, he said.
“Maybe somebody needs something. But they have opportunities and will apply to those various groups,” Patterson said recently. “So it’s still a swamp we’re trying to walk through and figure out what to do.”
A key goal will be “how can we work together,” Patterson said of other jurisdictions. “Or how can we do X and you do Y instead of both of us trying to do X and Y. It’s still a huge learning curve for us.”
Kettering City Council members have pitched various ideas while city staff has had several meetings to see which programs meet federal spending guidelines, he said.
The funds can help offset “revenue losses they have experienced as a result of the crisis,” according to the U.S. Treasury Department.
They can also be used to “help them cover the costs incurred due responding to the public health emergency and provide support for a recovery – including through assistance to households, small businesses and nonprofits, aid to impacted industries, and support for essential workers,” according to the website.
Kettering City Manager Mark Schwieterman has said the city expects to receive about the same amount in ARPA funds next year.
While spending decisions are still two to three months away, areas that may eventually receive money range from non-profits and small businesses to the city itself, Patterson said.
“We may see our budget’s going to be cut so much because of this new work-at-home (practice) and we don’t get this, that and the other,” he said.
“Some of this money is going to need to be put to improvements to the city. Improvements like neighborhood streets or some things like that,” Patterson said.
Many of the areas Kettering officials are considering spending on are in line with how municipalities should plan to spend ARPA funds, said a research fellow at The Buckeye Institute, a public policy think tank.
A city with Kettering’s 54,000 population should shore up its health infrastructure for future issues and assist small businesses “that have taken it on the chin more than the bigger box retail stores,” said Greg Lawson, who focuses at the institute include local government and local taxes.
Lawson also suggests ensuring public safety “and core services” are funded due to uncertainty involving how Ohio’s municipal income tax — and thus local budgets — will be impacted by many working from home.
“To the extent that you can, use some of these dollars to make sure you’re taking care of your core services while we figure out what the new lay of the land is as some people come back to the office, some people don’t come back, some people do hybrid,” he said.
“I think nobody really has a full answer as to how it’s going to work itself out,” Lawson added.
Last year Synchrony Financial announced it was leaving Kettering due to a global strategy of having employees work from home. The move cost the city about 1,900 jobs and an annual payroll exceeding $100 million, officials said.
Schwieterman has said “the premise is that the (ARPA) funds will be used to replace lost revenue” in the next four years.
Once city council has a comprehensive list of possible spending categories, Patterson said, “we’ll go ahead and pare those down…and decide how we’re going to prioritize them. So there’s not any disagreement.
“I think members of council may have some areas where they would like to see something happen in,” he added. “And it may be different than the person sitting next to them. But we haven’t gotten to that point to set our priorities and then discuss our priorities.”
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