Supervisor Barger: City’s Rent Relief Stimulus Funds to be Distributed by State

Rental assistance funds from the $1.9 trillion stimulus package will now be allocated to the city from the state, according to Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger.

Barger told the City Council in a joint meeting on Wednesday that the county originally planned to distribute the funds, but the state refused to set up a database that would show which jurisdictions had received the money.

“They chose not to set up the database so we could see when the funds were received, and they refused to indemnify us,” Barger said. “So we decided to let the state do it.”

The city could receive $3 million in homeless assistance funds. Rental assistance funds would be distributed to the city from money received by L.A. County.

More than half of the cities in the county were expected to get their funding through the county’s allocation, while others will receive money directly from the federal government. That money will now come from the state.

Mayor Victor Gordo expressed concerns about the money going directly to the county for distribution.

The city is expected to receive $52 million from the stimulus package. However, some details on how the funds are being disbursed were not available when the stimulus bill first passed.

“I know on the first round it came directly to the county,” Barger said. “It’s my understanding the city will receive a direct allocation and it will be over a two-year period.”

In September, the city announced that roughly $480,000 in emergency assistance funds to help cover back rent of those affected by the COVID-19 pandemic had been disbursed to local residents.

“We’ve got to ensure Pasadena receives its fair share for our residents,” Gordo said.

According to NBC News, $5 billion will be distributed across the country through the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Community Development Fund under the CARES Act, which was signed into law by President Trump last March. The first phase of those funds is expected in late April, with the balance to be disbursed on a rolling basis.