The City of Santa Fe successfully spent the majority of its allocated $17.5 million CARES Act funds by the Dec. 31 deadline thanks to the state's decision to allow cities and counties to use some of the funds on public health and safety payroll, according to a report officials released Monday.
In November, the state made a change that allowed spending on wages for health and safety personnel amid fears that municipalities might not be able to distribute the funds in time and recognition that cities and counties were spending extra on community health and safety staffing needs during the pandemic. Santa Fe took full advantage of the change, while also spending millions to help families make it through the winter.
The city spent around $7.5 million on health and safety payroll, nearly $5.2 million on community aid, and $2 million to purchase a motel to provide affordable COVID-safe housing for homeless and housing insecure individuals. It spent almost $2 million on PPE and other supplies, $1 million on emergency paid sick leave for city employees, and $120,000 on administrative expenses and online training.
Santa Fe city and county collaborated on a small local business and nonprofit grant program that distributed $3.6 million of the $3.8 million jointly allocated to the municipalities for the program.
Of the 400 businesses that applied, 168 were awarded grants ranging from $2,262 to $25,000, according to the county's report, also released Monday. These run the gamut of Santa Fe establishments, including some of the city's best known businesses and nonprofits: Aroma Coffee, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Boxcar, Collected Works, the Folk Art Market, On Your Feet, Rock Paper Scissor Salon, SITE Santa Fe, and Whoo's Donuts.
Of the nearly $5.2 million spent on community aid, the city distributed $1.6 million through its CONNECT network to people in need. The network consists of two dozen local nonprofits that use a shared software system to help keep track of clients.
At a press conference Monday, Community Services Director Kyra Ochoa said the department was able to help as many as 12,462 people with a range of basic necessities from food to rental assistance to transportation needs.
The city also contracted with a national organization called the Youth and Family Independence Initiative which distributed $3.5 million in direct cash payments to Santa Fe residents. These dollars were dispersed through an Eviction Prevention fund that paid families up to $3,000 to help with missed rental payments and an Economic Relief Fund that made direct cash payments of $750 to residents who did not qualify for the Federal Stimulus check.
In mid-December the Youth and Family Independence Initiative also distributed $330,00 that had originally been allocated to the CONNECT program but that its member agencies were not able to spend in time.
"It's hard to spend money quickly," Ochoa said, noting the numerous small hiccups and bureaucratic stumbling blocks that were challenging for local organizations to navigate in the short window between September and December the city had to spend its CARES Act dollars.
Yet, despite these difficulties, Ochoa said the experience has tested and strengthened the network, leaving in place an infrastructure that the community will be able to rely on for services going forward.
"Now we have a system in place for how to do this," said Ochoa, adding that "it was really a heroic effort on the part of our staff."
Ochoa said staff members worked at all hours of the day and night to ensure as many people received aid as possible.
Of all the money spent through the CONNECT program, the vast majority went towards housing needs, the city's report shows. The next greatest spending category was food, followed by utilities.
Santa Fe County also took advantage of the opportunity to spend CARES Act dollars on health and safety payroll, spending around $5 million of its allocated $10.5 million on wages for public safety employees, says county spokeswoman Carmelina Hart. An additional $1.2 million went towards COVID-19 related expenses such as PPE.
The county spent $4.7 on Community Services. As with the city, a majority of these funds went towards housing expenses.
