Remember when Sac County got $181 million for CARES Act and they tried to give it to the Sheriff's department last year? Community had to rally for that injustice to be undone. Well, we need to make sure this doesn't happen again with the $300 million they are set to receive.
The county is prioritize capturing as much money from ARPA, but not prioritizing capturing funds for most impacted communities.
Our biggest concern is with the way the County has approached "community outreach." They have hired the firm Deloitte to push out a survey for community response (deadline of June 30th) which we find problematic for the following reasons:
1. The survey is festered with racial and cultural inequities and a sampling bias
done online-only and English-only
lacked contextual background assuming that everyone knew about the American Rescue Plan
uncertainty about a representative sample of the community, which could suppress the voices of the community
2. The County is asking for departments to submit their budget proposals and we have reason to believe that the County is planning to give some of this funding to law enforcement (HELL TO THE NAW NAW NAW).
3. Deloitte is being hired to ensure the county gets as much federal $$ as possible; NOT to ensure a robust and equity centered community engagement process
concern that some communities are going to be left behind: creating deeper equity gaps
WHAT TO DO?
Call or e-mail your county Board of Supervisor RIGHT NOW and let them know you are concerned about ARPA funds not going to impacted communities and that no funds should go to law enforcement.
