Genesee News

City of Saginaw issued the following announcement on Sept 8.

The City of Saginaw would like to provide citizens with an overview of the Strategic Planning Session scheduled for Friday, September 17 beginning at 9:00 a.m. The meeting will take place at the Temple Theatre Ballroom, 201 N. Washington Avenue.

The main discussion topic for this Strategic Planning Session will be the use of $52 million in federal funding that the City will receive from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) legislation. The meeting will be facilitated by Tim Dempsey, Vice President of Public Sector Consultants. An overview of the ARPA funding and eligible expenses will be included in the presentation, as well as the official City of Saginaw ARPA survey results.

Following the overview and presentation of the survey information, the council planning will begin and will be focused on the following question - “What strategic investments of American Rescue Plan funding will advance the prosperity and quality of life for Saginaw residents?” During this time, Council Members will be working with other Council Members to cluster ideas and develop project categories for the ARPA funds. The public will be able to observe and listen to this facilitation of ideas and council discussion.

The City fully expects for there to be additional meetings with public input and discussion following the September 17 session. Future meetings will be part of the “next steps” discussion that will close the Planning Session portion of the meeting.

After the completion of the planning session, the meeting will return to the regular council agenda. This will include the approval of any consent agenda items as well as a time for public input. This will be the time for the public to provide comments and input on the session and the ARPA funding. Additionally, the meeting will include multiple breaks, where Council Members may choose to interact with the citizens attending the meeting and hear their ideas.

City Manager Tim Morales commented on the session, “The American Rescue Plan Act funding will allow the City to address problems caused by or exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Our September 17 Strategic Planning Session gives citizens the opportunity to observe and listen as Council Members brainstorm and cluster ideas on the use of the ARPA funds. This planning session will determine the next steps and future meetings with public input discussions. We encourage citizens to attend and observe this important session.”

To speak during the public input portion of the meeting, citizens must contact the City Clerk’s Office, 1315 S. Washington Room 102 (989) 759-1480, prior to 4:00 p.m. on Thursday, September 16, 2021. All guests are required to wear a mask or appropriate protective face covering when inside the Temple Theatre. If you would like more information on the Strategic Planning Session, please contact the City Manager’s Office at 989-759-1403.

Original source can be found here.