Spokane City Council wants your thoughts on how to spend $81 million in COVID relief

The Spokane City Council has launched an online survey to gather ideas on how to spend $81 million in federal coronavirus relief funds.

The survey was launched on ThoughtExchange, a platform that allows users to confidentially generate their own ideas and rate the proposals offered by others.

“Community conversation is the first step in our public engagement process, and ThoughtExchange is the perfect tool to start this very important conversation,” says Councilwoman Lori Kinnear, chair of the council’s Public Safety and Community Health Committee. “We want to hear from our community on the best ways to allocate ARP funds and by utilizing this online tool, we capture thoughts, sentiments, and ideas to help shape our funding decisions.”

ThoughtExchange is just one of several forms of public outreach planned by city officials as they weigh how to best to use the unprecedented stimulus provided by the American Rescue Plan adopted by Congress earlier this year.

The city has received the first of two approximately $40 million payments, but has until the end of 2024 to allocate the funds. Though broad, the allowable uses for the funds are not unlimited.

Mayor Nadine Woodward was joined by City Council members earlier this week as she announced plans to hold town hall events in every City Council district to hear suggestions for spending American Rescue Plan funds. The city will also hold a telephonic town hall for those who are unable or fearful of attending an in-person event.

The dates of the town halls have yet to be set.

The ThoughtExchange can be found at https://tejoin.com/scroll/961107889.