Westfield, New Jersey Spent $18,000 in Covid Aid on Never-Distributed Promotional Tote Bags, Business “Ambassadors”

Instead of using federal CARES Act relief money for its intended purpose to help small businesses weather the pandemic, the town of Westfield, New Jersey decided to spend $8,000 on 2,000 promotional tote bags to encourage residents to shop and buy local.

Spending $4 per canvas tote bag to encourage shoppers to shop local might be a laudable idea, but they were never even distributed. U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) highlighted the tote bags in her December 2021 “Holiday Grift List."

The tote bags, which read “Love Local, Shop Westfield,” sat in their original boxes through the holidays in a municipal warehouse. They were supposed to be given out by paid ambassadors during the 2020 Christmas holidays at a federally-funded “Holiday Visitors Center,” according to the New Jersey Globe. Then, town officials said that these bags would instead be given out throughout the 2021 year at various events. However, the grant application stated the funds were to be used in 2020.

Westfield also used its CARES Act money to hire consultants to create a retail strategy, and spent $10,000 on ambassadors, “to patrol our downtown streets starting in mid-November and continuing every day through Christmas.” They handed out masks and maps (though not in tote bags). Back at the federally-funded Holiday Visitors Center, visitors could get free giftwrapping and local delivery on their new purchases.

This may seem like a decent way to promote small businesses. Yet other cities spent their money directly on small businesses: purchasing heaters for outdoor dining at restaurants, giving grants to help businesses stay open, and purchasing personal protective equipment for retailors.

While the tote bags take up space in a warehouse, taxpayers may wonder why the funds were ever allocated in the first place.

The #WasteOfTheDay is presented by the forensic auditors at OpenTheBooks.com.