Tucson hasnβt been able to allocate all of the $10.1 million in federal relief money that was set aside to fund grants for local organizations, an initiative that was β in part β meant to bolster city efforts on issues such as housing and community safety.
The money represents the first of two tranches of American Rescue Plan Act grant funds expected to be released this year. The overarching goal of the grants is to help address long standing needs in Tucson by making a βtransformative and sustainable impact in the community.β
In addition to local groups whose work will supplement city programs, grants were also opened up to organizations that provide services ranging from small business assistance to cultural development.
But no local groups applied under three of the 14 grant categories β volunteer management, city trade and skill development and transitional workforce β that represented a combined $350,000 of funding.
Another $1.4 million hasnβt been committed because Tucson didnβt receive enough applicants that met the federal grant requirements under four other categories, which included housing and βcommunity health and safety,β bringing the total amount of unused funds to around $1.8 million.
βI really just want to acknowledge that we have a lot of great organizations within our community that provide services and programs that weβre all very familiar with. Thereβs a lot of need,β said Deputy City Manager Liana Perez. βWe have a lot (of local groups) that we were surprised did not apply under this particular process, and we hope that we will continue to work with them within the framework, of course, and our other community partners to develop future opportunities or to fill that gap.β
Perez believes some community organizations didnβt apply because of staffing shortages, a national problem that she said has particularly rocked local programs that provide mental health services.
The deputy city manager is still confident that Tucson will find candidates to qualify for the unallocated funds in the coming months, however, but officials will have to take a different tact to make it happen.
Staffers plan to reach out directly to groups that didnβt submit grant requests during the application process, for example, though they havenβt figured out exactly what that will look like.
βWeβre still working on that because weβre going through identifying those particular areas and what programs exist in the community as we go out and look at those possible partnerships,β she said. βWe donβt have actual (next) steps, in other words, other than we are exploring them to see if those are viable programs that we can partner with for these funds.β
Itβs unlikely Tucson will reopen applications for this round of grants, according to Perez who expects the direct outreach approach to help the city identify community partners who will be able to take the remaining $1.8 million within the next 60 days.
Even if the city continues to have a hard time finding local groups to fund, itβs unlikely that the federal government will take the money back. Thereβs no set deadline for Tucson to use the cash and no rule that allows the feds to reclaim any extra funds.
Still, the ballooning of issues like homelessness and crime in Tucson make it apparent that officials need all the help they can get to combat those problems. The sooner the grant funds are awarded, the sooner the new organizations will be able to join the cityβs existing efforts.
βI really hope that the announcement of who is receiving the grants this year can be made soon so that we can put that money to work,β Mayor Regina Romero said.
The $8.3 million in grant funds that has been allocated to specific community groups is expected to be awarded within the coming weeks.
Perez said the city will reevaluate its process ahead of the second tranche of ARPA grants later this year, though itβs not yet clear what changes might be made to increase the initiativeβs effectiveness.
The Sonoran Desert's majestic saguaro is celebrated in this video by Dave Pederson.
