Quincy councilor plans to push for public input on how to spend city's COVID relief money

QUINCY — A Quincy city councilor plans to pressure the mayor's administration to solicit public input as to how the city's $46 million in federal COVID relief money should be spent. 

Councilor Anthony Andronico says he plans to submit a resolution at Monday's city council meeting, the first regularly scheduled meeting of the year, asking the mayor to host public forums or post an online survey for residents. He says residents should be involved in how money allocated from the American Rescue Plan Act is spent, and pointed to several other communities who have solicited feedback. 

“The people of Quincy deserve an opportunity to provide direct input into how federal COVID-19 relief funds are spent. Although the mayor’s office has final say on how these funds are allocated, I believe the Administration should ... solicit input from residents,” Andronico said in a statement. “The council and the public have only been informed through the news of where federal relief funds are headed and an accounting update on remaining relief funds would allow the public to understand which shared priorities we may be able to invest in moving forward.”

Koch said he didn't have much to say about the resolution, but that he does get feedback from residents on a daily basis. 

"We're a city and we're elected to do the job," he said. "I get input everyday over the phone, via email, and on social media. I appreciate where the councilor is coming from." 

Earlier this year, Mayor Thomas Koch, U.S. Rep. Stephen Lynch and House Speaker Ronald Mariano, D-Quincy, said the American Rescue Plan will deliver roughly $8.1 billion to state and local governments in Massachusetts, including $46.3 million to the city of Quincy. 

The city has already spent a decent portion of the money. The administration spent $15 million to buy the Munroe building downtown and parking lot adjacent to the Quincy Center T station, and reimbursed itself millions of dollars spent early in the pandemic on infrastructure and air circulation upgrades in schools. 

90% of state's COVID money hasn't been allocated

As of July 31, when Beacon Hill broke for the summer recess from which it is now emerging, Massachusetts had allocated a little more than $194 million of the $5.3 billion in federal money the state received in May with another $186 million planned to be implemented by January, according to a state report.

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The figures are contained in a recovery plan performance report that the U.S. Treasury required of states, highlighting the state's use of and proposals for spending American Rescue Plan Act money in comprehensive detail.

The report breaks the $3.195 billion in approved or proposed spending down into three phases: the $194.1 million approved already, the $186 million Gov. Charlie Baker has committed from the $200 million at his disposal and the $2.9 billion spending plan Baker has been promoting for months.

The Legislature is reviewing Baker's ideas for spending $2.9 billion relatively quickly and has another $2 billion of American Rescue Plan Act money in the bank, most of which much be allocated by 2024 and spent by 2026. Lawmakers also have a large surplus from fiscal year 2021, in which tax collections exceeded expectations by about $5 billion, to spend or save.

That surplus was generated with help from the aid to individuals and communities that the federal government provided and the increase in economic activity when the Massachusetts economy reopened. Between fiscal year 2019 - the last budget year not influenced by the pandemic - and fiscal 2021, Massachusetts tax collections have soared $4.4 billion or 14.9 percent, the state detailed in an appendix to its report to the U.S. Treasury. 

Reporting by Colin A. Young of the State House News Service was used in this report.