Sentinel staff report–
Citrus Heights already has seen a reduction of more than two tons of litter and debris from across the city, thanks to nearly $1 million in federal pandemic relief funds going towards a newly launched “Beautification Crew” program.
In an announcement Tuesday, the city shared a photo of a new 16-foot stake-bed truck, equipped with a lift gate and large branding. The truck is used to transport a two-person crew around the city to clean up debris, homeless camps, and other blight.
“There’s just too much trash in our beautiful city right now,” City Manager Ash Feeney told the City Council in May, when the program was being considered. “We’re looking to have this Beautification Crew really kind of double down on those efforts to clean things up.”
The city said during its first week in operation, the crew picked up 2.2 tons of trash and debris.
The Beautification crew is in operation Monday-Friday and conducts daily and weekly routines, including “proactive sweeps with quick responses to urgent needs,” the city said. A phone number posted on the truck says residents can request service by calling (916) 727-4770 or texting “service request” to (844) 92-HELLO.
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Funding for the Beautification Crew comes from a total of $15.6 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding allocated to Citrus Heights. Original guidelines from the U.S. Treasury had greater restrictions on the use of funds to be more directly related to pandemic relief, but later allowed for broad discretionary use of up to $10 million.
In June, the City Council voted to allocate $875,000 in ARPA funding to go towards the Beautification Crew pilot program, with funding for two, full-time maintenance workers through fiscal year 2025-26.
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