The Santa Ana City Council approves a $79.5M spending plan

SANTA ANA, Calif. – The Santa Ana City Council on Thursday, June 3, approved spending priorities for the initial part – $79.5 million – of a far-reaching pandemic recovery plan that will provide health, financial, education and other support to the Santa Ana community.

“Last night the City Council took the first important step toward a comprehensive strategy to help our residents, our businesses, our youth and all of Santa Ana truly begin to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic,” Mayor Vicente Sarmiento said. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to address inequities in health, information access and many other issues in our community.”

The Revive Santa Ana initiative is funded by a federal American Rescue Plan Act allocation of $128.3 million and additional housing funding of $21.5 million, as well as $10.6 million in federal money from the state for emergency rental assistance. The City is required to spend all of this federal funding by the end of 2026.

The plan approved Thursday had been updated following the City Council’s direction at a May 24 budget workshop to increase funding for pandemic recovery and direct assistance for residents and add additional supportive programs. Prior to creating the Revive Santa Ana plan, the City also held a virtual town hall and conducted a survey in which over 1,500 community members responded to provide input about how the money should be spent.

Revive Santa Ana has five areas of focus:

Recovery from the Pandemic: $7.2 million

• Local Vaccinations/Education Collaboration
• Public Health Equity
• Expansion of Critical City Communications Methods
• Sanitization & Prevention
• COVID-19 Emergency Response
• Mental Health Recovery
• Contributions to Local Health Clinics
• Memorial to Lives Lost During the Pandemic

Direct Assistance Programs: $24.6 million

• Emergency Rental Assistance Program
• Resident stimulus payments
• Emergency Housing Vouchers
• Food Distribution
• Reopening Assistance to Businesses
• Early Childhood Support & Head Start (including arts programs)
• After-School Programs (including homework assistance)
• Youth Violence/Sexual Assault Intervention
• Digital Literacy Education

Public Health & Safety: $14 million

• Addition of Green Space at Santa Anita Park
• Healthy Food Access and community garden
• Trash Abatement & Supplemental Code Enforcement
• Support Services for COVID-19 Response
• Rapid Response Homeless Services
• Upgrade Park Restrooms
• Enhanced Security for Usability of Parks/Community Centers

Critical Infrastructure: $19.5 million

• Affordable Broadband Access
• Community Center Renovations
• Update Central Library to Support Early Childhood Learning
• New Library Branch/Expansion of Library Accessibility
• Pedestrian & Mobility Improvements
• Information Technology & Process Upgrades
• Neighborhood Safety Streetlights

City Fiscal Health: $14.2 million

• Revenue loss, unemployment fund and other pandemic-related costs.

On June 15, 2021, the City Council is expected to vote to appropriate the funding so the City can begin spending it on the new programs.

About Santa Ana

Santa Ana is downtown for the world famous Orange County, California. It is the County Seat, the second-most populous city in Orange County, and is home to a vibrant evening scene and arts community. Over 1,200 City employees work hard every day to deliver efficient public services in partnership with our community to ensure public safety, a prosperous economic environment, opportunities for our youth, and a high quality of life for residents. Learn more at www.santa-ana.org.