Monroe County Legislature approves ARPA funding measures in the suburbs

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) — The Monroe County Legislature unanimously voted to provide $6 million in federal COVID-19 relief funds for senior and young people in the suburbs. The total package approved Tuesday night is $25 million.

Legislators said the money was initially agreed to help address support cut off by the pandemic. Senior centers closed which prevented older people from socializing or getting help through services and programs.

An amendment by Legislator Rachel Barnhart to add $2 million for city services did not pass. Barnhart and supporters of the amendment called the original proposal an effort to treat the city and suburbs differently from each other.

Legislator Mercedes Vazquez-Simmons said excluding the city is dangerous, referencing South African Apartheid and a system of segregation in Rochester that continues to this day.

Those who opposed Barnhart’s amendment suggested the city already received hundreds of millions of dollars through ARPA funding.

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