A new report from the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) of Los Angeles reveals how the city has spent the more than $1 billion received under the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). The report shows that the majority of the money went to pay the salaries of police, firefighters, park rangers and other city employees. None of the money was allocated toward building housing for the homeless or health initiatives like vaccines.
The two city departments with the highest payrolls, the Los Angeles Police Department and Los Angeles Fire Department collected nearly two-thirds of the $1.08 billion that the City of Los Angeles has been awarded thus far. By comparison, the four other city departments that were granted funds to cover salaries received less than half that amount.
In March, Ben Ceja, Assistant City Administrative Officer, told L.A. TACO that using the ARPA funds to cover police salaries was both justified and “necessary.” “We did not have enough of our General Fund revenue to cover all of our expenses for Fiscal Year 2020-21. As such, the federal funds were used to cover the cost of City government services, specifically LAPD payroll.”
Under the legislation, ARPA funding can be used for a variety of purposes, including covering government employees' salaries, but it can also be used to pay healthcare workers and invest in infrastructure for small businesses.