URBANA, Ill. (WAND) - Monday night, Urbana City Council took its first steps to spend federal covid funds. 

The city of Urbana is set to receive almost $13 million in American Rescue Plan money, also known as ARPA dollars. While many cities have already allocated their ARPA dollars to specific projects, Urbana is still deciding where to spend its money.

Leaders have held public hearings and conducted a survey. They found the public was interested in a few key areas, including public safety, public infrastructure, affordable housing, health and safety and social services.

But now, cities have to tell the U.S. Treasury Department by the end of the week how they will spend ARPA money for expenses that already happened in the past year. Mayor Diana Marlin said that means making a decision on how much ARPA money will be used to cover their lost revenue.​

"Really that is revenue loss that we see as losing revenue loss due to our lower census count, and that is directly related to the pandemic. Because the census was taken the very week that everything shut down, including the University of Illinois and that had an impact on our population numbers," Marlin explained.

Instead of giving the treasury department an exact total of revenue lost over the past year, the council voted to take a standard allowance of $2.5 million out of their ARPA money. Marlin said this funding will allow the city to continue offering crucial services while waiting to decide on how to spend the rest of the ARPA dollars.​

"We want to make sure we maintain our core services in addition to thoughtfully spending the rest of our American Rescue Plan funds," Marlin added.

 In the report, due by the end of the week, the treasury department's website explains that cities must detail their loss of revenue and list of projects. If no projects have been completed, they ask cities to begin making those decisions as soon as possible.

Marlin said the council will begin reviewing public input in the coming weeks. They should have specific projects outlined by the fall. Funds must be committed to specific agencies or organizations by December 2024.Â