TITLE
Recommendation to receive and file a report on the financial assistance and other agreements accepted by the City of Long Beach, from October 1, 2020 through December 31, 2020, under Resolution No. RES-20-0049 to respond to the proclaimed emergency due to the COVID-19 pandemic; and
Increase appropriations in the Housing Authority Fund Group in the Health and Human Services Department by $1,904,610 for HUD Section 8 administrative fee funding to provide for costs related to protecting assisted families and employees throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, offset by grant revenues. (Citywide)
DISCUSSION
On March 4, 2020, the City of Long Beach (City) declared local health and city emergencies to strengthen the City's preparedness and ability to respond to the novel coronavirus, commonly known as COVID-19. City Council authorized the declarations on March 10, 2020.
Since that time, the City Health Officer, under authority of applicable State law, issued several City Health Orders guiding and restricting activities of the community as a means of slowing the spread and mitigating the effects of COVID-19. These Health Orders and certain COVID-19 emergency response activities were necessary to protect public health, life, and safety of the Long Beach community during this health emergency while cases, hospitalizations, and deaths in Long Beach began to rise.
As part of the overall assessment of potential City needs to respond to the serious and imminent threat of an outbreak of COVID-19, it was determined that the City should take advantage of federal and state grants being made available to address the COVID-19 pandemic and, as such, it became necessary for the City to apply for and enter into grant agreements in an expedited manner. To provide staff with greater ability to secure grant funds as they become available to fund COVID-19 response activities, on April 14, 2020, the City Council adopted Resolution RES- 20-0049 authorizing the City Manager to execute documents applying for and expending financial assistance in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic.
This authorization allows for the City Manager, or designee, to apply for, accept, and expend funding for COVID-19-related grants, with and without a match requirement, and requires that all agreements executed under this authority be presented to the City Council at the next practicable opportunity for receive and file.
This is the third report being presented to the City Council to meet this reporting requirement and includes one COVID-19 financial assistance opportunity totaling approximately $1.9 million, and one data access agreement with the State of California Employment Development Department (EDD). The first report on August 4, 2020, presented eight COVID-19 financial assistance opportunities accepted as of June 30, 2020, totaling approximately $39.8 million. The second report on November 17, 2020, included nine COVID-19 financial assistance opportunities accepted during the period of July 1, 2020 to September 30, 2020, totaling approximately $28.9 million. This third report includes one financial opportunity accepted during the period of October 1, 2020 to December 31, 2020 in the amount of $1.9 million for a cumulative total of 18 COVID-19 financial assistance opportunities totaling approximately $70.6 million reported to date. This total represents an estimate of funding, which the City may receive across various funds. Actual funding will vary as some funding opportunities are cost reimbursements and are based on eligible expenditures incurred.
It should be noted that this report does not include grants that have been presented to the City Council separately (not under RES-20-0049) including Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) funding of $40.3 million presented on July 6, 2020.
This report also does not include funding opportunities that are in the process of being negotiated by the City. Grant agreements that are in the process of being accepted and/or executed by the City after December 31, 2020, will continue to be tracked and reported to the City Council in the next report, anticipated to be provided in June 2021.
This matter was reviewed by Deputy City Attorney Amy R. Webber on February 4, 2021 and by Budget Manager Grace H. Yoon on February 3, 2021.
EQUITY LENS
The City has incorporated the Equity Toolkit in this recommendation, as requested by the City Council on April 21, 2020. For many underrepresented community members, the pandemic has the potential to exacerbate existing racial, economic, health, education, and gender inequities. In response, the City will consider racial and economic equity and examine how various communities most vulnerable to the impacts of COVID-19 will be affected. As much as possible, spending allocations will be made equitably to address the greatest COVID vulnerability in priority areas.
TIMING CONSIDERATIONS
City Council action is requested on March 2, 2021, to enable the timely processing of budget adjustments.
FISCAL IMPACT
Economic Development
Data Access Agreement with EDD
On October 21, 2020, the City of Long Beach Economic Development Department entered into an agreement with EDD under Resolution RES-20-0049, authorizing the City Manager to execute documents applying for and expending financial assistance in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic. This agreement is needed to implement the COVID-19 Economic Equity Studies Program, a CARES Act-funded project. The agreement provides access to confidential employment data, including quarterly census of employment and wage data obtained by EDD, under California Unemployment Insurance Code 1095(r). The confidential data will be used to understand the impacts of COVID-19 on various sectors of the Long Beach economy and inform our Economic Trends Analysis and Economic Impact Analysis to recommend solutions for the specific impacts of COVID-19 on high-risk populations such as the Latinx, Black, Cambodian/Asian, informal economy, reentry population, and low-median-income communities in Long Beach. The total cost for data access under this agreement is $3,251 and will be charged to the COVID-19 Economic Equity Study program. Appropriation for this program was provided by the City Council on July 14, 2021. The term of this agreement is August 1, 2020 to July 31, 2023.
Health and Human Services Department
Housing and Urban Development (HUD) - CARES Act Administrative Fees - Supplemental Funding
Increase appropriations in the Housing Authority Fund Group in the Health and Human Services Department by $1,904,610, for HUD Section 8 administrative fee funding to provide for costs related to protecting assisted families and employees throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, offset by grant revenues.
The Housing Authority administers rental assistance programs that benefit approximately 7,000 families in Long Beach, funded through HUD. HUD’s largest program, Housing Choice Voucher (HCV), provides affordable housing vouchers to low-income families, the elderly, and disabled residents of Long Beach so they can live in decent, safe, sanitary, and affordable housing. The Housing Authority received an additional $1,904,610 in CARES Act Administrative Fee funding for the HCV program to be used to protect assisted families and employees throughout this COVID-19 pandemic. The performance period of this grant is August 13, 2020 to December 31, 2021. With this second allocation, the total CARES Act Administrative Fee funding allocated to the City is $3,415,644. The first allocation was $1,511,034 for the period of March 27, 2020 to December 31, 2020, and was included in first report to City Council on August 4, 2020. There is no local match requirement for this grant.
SUGGESTED ACTION
Approve recommendation.
Respectfully Submitted,
JOHN GROSS
INTERIM DIRECTOR OF FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT
APPROVED:
THOMAS B. MODICA
CITY MANAGER