How do we spend $435 million in Stanislaus COVID rescue money? Start here

Spending hundreds of millions of dollars in COVID-19 stimulus money is a task to be undertaken with some joy, much gratitude and a significant measure of thoughtful wisdom.

Stanislaus County and area cities and school districts have lost so much in the coronavirus pandemic. Now they must decide how best to spend about $435 million in stimulus money, thanks to the American Rescue Plan.

That’s right — $435 million. The collective sum boggles the mind.

Every agency should be golden with that kind of big money, right?

Maybe. No doubt, it will help — a lot. But there always is risk whenever anyone hands someone else a chunk of change — in this case, the federal government giving to the county, cities and schools.

Our largest agencies expect the following: $108 million for the county, $47 million for Modesto, $92 million for Modesto City Schools, $16 million for Turlock and $9 million for Ceres. Smaller cities and school districts will get varying amounts.

And no, $435 million — as hefty as it sounds — won’t come close to filling the innumerable needs of our county, its nine cities and 26 school districts, all hurt to varying degrees by the deadly coronavirus and its hits to income, personnel and customers.

Elected leaders must approach this task soberly. They must listen carefully to those they’ve hired to run their agencies. They must use institutional knowledge of needs. And they must consider the people they serve with every dollar they spend.

To prime the pump, we asked a few respected former leaders what advice they might have for current office holders.

Bits of wisdom from former Stanislaus area leaders

Bill O’Brien, a former county supervisor, suggested reducing future obligations. For example, most cities are straining under pension benefits owed to retirees, an acute and growing problem across the state.

Former Modesto Mayor Garrad Marsh had the same thought. “There’s an ongoing benefit if used that way, because there will be less strain on your (current) budget,” he said.

Former Oakdale Mayor Pat Kuhn said leaders should pick the brains of people with insights on COVID suffering, such as educators, doctors and nurses, and churches. “They’ve certainly seen things the rest of us haven’t,” she said.

Janice Keating, a former Modesto councilwoman, said priority should be given to businesses not receiving help from some other funding stream. “The last thing they should think about is spending money on bureaucracy. The first thing they should think about is an approach to businesses with financial struggles, and to focus on the less affluent,” she said.

Good advice, all.

Let’s get creative, folks

It would be wasteful to use this rescue money simply plugging budget deficits, as many agencies did with the first round of federal CARES Act stimulus last year. There should be prizes for the most creative approaches to spending the current windfall.

Consensus would be nice. Leaders will have to summon their best negotiating skills, see each other, hear each other out and deal respectfully.

Some county supervisors, for example, will want to spend money getting the former air base near Crows Landing more attractive for a bright industrial future. Others might favor upgrading bridges. Still others will see the benefit in upgrading sewers or installing sidewalks and street lights in unincorporated islands surrounded by Modesto, Turlock and Ceres.

That’s the biggest obstacle to being annexed by those cities, and a project worthy of joint cooperation between the county and cities. Thousands of residents of these underserved pockets pay taxes and deserve the same urban benefits as neighbors within city limits, often just across the street.

But upgrading all unincorporated islands could take up to $500 million. Suddenly, the $435 million we’ve been talking about — for the county, all cities and all school districts, collectively — doesn’t seem quite so big.

So hard decisions are in order, requiring active listening, thoughtful consideration and much discussion.

Let the fun begin.

This story was originally published April 12, 2021 at 4:00 AM.