How Irvine residents and Councilmember Agran propose to “build back better”
Back in March, Councilmember Agran and his team of appointees circulated a survey to Irvine residents asking how to allocate the $53 million* in Covid relief funds Irvine is receiving from the Federal government as part of President Biden’s American Rescue Plan. With input from 186 residents, Councilmember Agran and his team have released recommendations for addressing the community’s top concerns over the next two years: affordable housing, healthy schools, responding to Covid-19, small business support, climate action, and more.
Survey results
Here is a snapshot of the survey results. In this question, residents were asked to identify their top three priorities for investing the federal funds:
Top 3 priorities reported as % (186 responses)
In this question, residents were asked to identify their top-most priority for investing the federal funds:
Single top priority, reported as % (149 responses)
These results, along with the comments provided made it clear: affordability and health are top of mind for Irvine residents as the City sets a course to move past the Covid-19 pandemic.
Recommendations for the funds
In an effort to respond to these prevailing concerns, Councilmember Agran consulted experts across the City and County, conducted extensive independent research, and collaborated with his team of commissioners, appointees, and staff to make nine recommendations.
Today, Councilmember Agran circulated these recommendations in a memo to his Council colleagues and the City Manager. For the full memo, click here.
In short, over the next two years, Councilmember Agran is proposing:
$10 million to establish a City Office of Emergency Housing Assistance;
$10 million to accelerate the implementation of Irvine’s Climate Action Plan;
$6 million to establish a City Hall Office of Public Health;
a $6 million investment in School Nurses and School Resource Officers;
$4 million to establish a City Office of Small Business Assistance;
$4 million to expand support for Child Care;
$2 million to improve participation and access to City Council, Commission, and Committee meetings;
$2 million to support Irvine’s Senior Centers and programs; and
$2 million to accelerate design/construction of the IBC Trail System.
What happens next
The allocation of these funds will be discussed at the next City Council Meeting on Tuesday, April 27th. To watch the meeting and/or make a comment via Zoom, click here and navigate to the details for the April 27th “regular” Council Meeting.** ECommenting will also be available at the above link, once the agenda is posted. If you would like to submit comments in writing in advance, you can also email your remarks to irvinecitycouncil@cityofirvine.org.
*EDIT (06/01/2021): Since publishing the recommendations in April 2021, the amount of funds allocated to Irvine increased from ~$53M to ~$56M.
**EDIT (05/12/2021): Shortly after this post was published, the item was deferred. It is likely to appear on the agenda for the May 25, 2021 Council Meeting.