Legal Insurrections by Mike LaChance Sunday, May 22, 2022
Mayor Jorge Elorza ; “We know that $10 million is not enough. We can’t right all the wrongs of the past, but we can take an important first step.”Providence Mayor Jorge Elorza has big plans for the city’s COVID funds, including using millions for reparations.
Is this how these funds were meant to be used? Did taxpayers agree to this?
WPRI News reports:
Providence finalizes plan to invest $124M in federal COVID money
Providence Mayor Jorge Elorza signed a spending plan for $124 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding Friday, paving the way for the city to invest tens of millions of dollars into housing and infrastructure projects.
“It goes to support a bunch of different, really important initiatives,” Elorza told 12 News during a live interview just hours after signing the ordinance. “But the most important thing is the housing crisis, really the housing affordability crisis in the city.
The budget allocates nearly $31 million to housing, including $17 million for affordable housing development…
The spending plan also earmarks $10 million for reparations through something called the “COVID-19 Equities Program.” A committee is currently reviewing how exactly to spend that money.
“Reparations can take a lot of different shapes,” Elorza said. “We know that $10 million is not enough. We can’t right all the wrongs of the past, but we can take an important first step.”
More:
https://legalinsurrection.com/2022/05/providence-to-use-federal-covid-relief-funds-for-racial-reparations/
