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Recommendation to receive and file a report on the financial assistance accepted by the City of Long Beach, as of June 30, 2020, under Resolution No. RES-20-0049 to respond to the proclaimed emergency due to the COVID-19 pandemic; and
Increase appropriations in several funds across several departments for various COVID-19-related grant opportunities. (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 (CHO), 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 the Long Beach community 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 grant agreements executed under this authority be presented to the City Council at the next practicable opportunity for receive and file.
To meet this reporting requirement, the following presents COVID-19 funding opportunities executed by the City Manager, or designee, through June 2020. This report does not include funding opportunities which are in the process of being accepted by the City. Grant agreements that are currently in the process of being accepted and are executed by the City after June 2020 will continue to be tracked and reported to the City Council in the next report anticipated in September 2020.
This report also includes departmental requests for increases in appropriations, as needed, in several funds across several departments to expend the various COVID-19-related grant opportunities.
This matter was reviewed by Deputy City Attorney Amy R. Webber on July 15, 2020 and by Budget Analysis Officer Julissa Jose-Murray on July 20, 2020.
EQUITY LENS
The City has incorporated the Equity Toolkit in this recommendation, as requested by the City Council on April 21, 2020. Many low-income communities, including low-income community members who identify as immigrants, LGBTQ+, disabled, and/or people of color are at higher risk for exposure to the COVID-19 virus because many cannot work from home, cannot afford to miss work, and often have jobs that require interacting with large numbers of people. For these underrepresented community members, the pandemic has the potential to exacerbate existing racial, economic, health, education, and gender inequities.
The decisions made by the City in response to this crisis will have impacts both now and long after the crisis ends. As such, 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. This report includes information regarding the City’s equity approach and allocations.
TIMING CONSIDERATIONS
City Council action is requested on August 4, 2020, to enable the timely processing of budget adjustments.
FISCAL IMPACT
Citywide Activities
FEMA Public Assistance Grant
The mission of the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA’s) Public Assistance (PA) Program is assist State, Local, Territorial, or Tribal (SLTT) governments, and certain types of private nonprofit (PNP) organizations so that communities can quickly respond to, and recover from, major disasters or emergencies declared by the President. In accordance with Section 502 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, eligible emergency protective measures taken to respond to the COVID-19 emergency at the direction or guidance of public health officials may be reimbursed under Category B of FEMA’s PA Program.
The FEMA PA Program supports specific types of emergency response actions that eliminate or lessen threats to lives, public health, or safety, such as running the Emergency Operations Center (EOC)/Incident Management Team (IMT), disinfecting eligible public facilities, medical sheltering, security, and law enforcement related to COVID-19 response. FEMA PA is a cost reimbursement grant that reimburses 75 percent of eligible expenses and requires a 25 percent local cost share.
To date, four COVID-19 response projects have been submitted for FEMA PA reimbursement. These projects, directed by the EOC and included the City’s Equity team to guide response activities and ensure that the decisions made by the City in response to this crisis facilitate consideration of racial and economic equity, include:
1. Combined EOC/IMT operations and Alternate Care Site (ACS) at the Convention Center;
2. Non-Congregate Sheltering (commonly referred to as Project Roomkey);
3. Great Plates Delivered Senior Meal Program; and,
4. COVID-19 Community Based Testing.
Additional projects may be submitted for FEMA PA and will be reported in future reports.
The initial estimated cost of these four projects was $16,122,269. Of this amount, the amount estimated to be reimbursed by the Federal share of 75 percent is $12,091,702 and the local cost share is $4,030,567, of which a portion is anticipated to be offset by state and county grants. It should be noted that costs recovered from FEMA will be dependent on actual expenditures incurred. An appropriation increase will be requested upon determination of actual costs expended and evaluation of the impact of these costs on various funds.
Health and Human Services Department
Long Beach Community Foundation - Ballmer Group and California Community Foundation
1. Increase appropriation in the Health Fund Group in the Health and Human Services Department by $200,000, to provide an equitable COVID-19 response plan focused on the City’s Immigrant population and African American population, offset by grant revenues.
Although African Americans make up 13 percent of the Long Beach population, they make up 21 percent of those hospitalized due to severe COVID-19 symptoms. Additionally, nearly 27 percent, or more than 125,000, Long Beach residents are immigrants, many of whom may be too afraid to seek testing or care for COVID-19. As in many communities of color hard-hit by the pandemic, these residents are at higher risk for exposure to the virus because many cannot work from home, cannot afford to miss work, and often have jobs that require interacting with large numbers of people. For these underrepresented community members, COVID-19 comes on top of existing racial, economic, health, education, and gender inequities.
The Health Department has received $200,000 from the Long Beach Community Foundation to create an equitable COVID-19 response plan focused on immigrant and African American populations. These funds were provided as a passthrough from the Ballmer Group via their donor-advised fund account in Goldman Sachs Philanthropy Fund, and California Community Foundation, each for $100,000.
These funds will be used for: strategic safety and prevention education through multiple methods of communication; increased access to testing and healthcare especially for older residents who may not have access to online resources; isolation and quarantine spaces to prevent spread for multi-generational and overcrowded households; and efforts to encourage just and equitable economic recovery. The operational period of these grant awards is May 1, 2020 to April 30, 2021. There is no local match requirement for either grant.
Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention (HHAP) - COC and Large City
2. Increase appropriation in the Health Fund Group in the Health and Human Services Department by $6,881,747 for the Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention (HHAP) - Continuum of Care (COC) and Large Cities allocations, to provide funding to support regional coordination, and to expand or develop local capacity to address immediate homelessness challenges, offset by grant revenues.
The Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention Program (HHAP) is a $650 million State-funded block grant designed to provide direct assistance to California cities, counties and Continuums of Care (CoC) in one-time funds to support regional coordination and expand or develop local capacity to address immediate homelessness challenges throughout the State. This includes measures to bring the unsheltered safely indoors, maintain health and sanitation standards, institute medical interventions, and add new isolation and quarantine capacity to the shelter and housing inventory to slow the spread of the pandemic. Funding for HHAP is authorized by Assembly Bill (AB) 101, which was signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom in July 2019.
The City is eligible to receive $2,231,142 through the Homeless Services Division’s Continuum of Care (CoC) and $4,650,605 through the Large Cities allocation, obtainable to cities and counties that have populations over 330,000. Total available funding for the City of Long Beach is $6,881,747 for the period of April 30, 2020 to June 30, 2025. There is no local match requirement for these grants.
Housing and Urban Development (HUD) - Supplemental Funding
3. Increase appropriation in the Housing Authority Fund Group in the Health and Human Services Department by $1,511,034 for HUD Section 8 supplemental administrative fee funding to provide for new costs related to protecting assisted families and employees throughout the coronavirus pandemic, offset by grant
revenues.
The Housing Authority administers rental assistance programs funded through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) that benefit approximately 7,000 families in Long Beach. Its largest program, Housing Choice Voucher (HCV), provides vouchers for affordable housing 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 $1,511,034 in supplemental administrative fee funding for the HCV Program to be used to protect assisted families and employees throughout this coronavirus pandemic. The performance period of this grant is March 27, 2020 to December 31, 2020. There is no local match requirement for this grant.
Long Beach Airport
CARES Act Airport Grant
The Long Beach Airport has received a Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act grant of up to $18,403,630 from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to help offset a decline in revenues arising from diminished airport operations and activities because of the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency. The purpose of this grant is to maintain safe and efficient airport operations. Such purposes can include the reimbursement of an airport’s operational and maintenance expenses or debt service payments. Funds provided under this grant must only be used for purposes directly related to the airport for which airport revenues may be lawfully used. The performance period of this grant is May 7, 2020 to May 7, 2024. There is no local match requirement for this grant. No increase in appropriation is needed as this grant is being utilized to fund existing Airport operating and debt service obligations.
Long Beach Police Department (LBPD)
BJA FY 20 Coronavirus Emergency Supplemental Funding Program
4. Increase appropriation in the General Grants Fund Group in the Police Department by $657,554, to enhance efforts to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, offset by grant revenues.
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, LBPD’s priority is to maintain public safety services in a new environment where in-person contact can pose a public health threat to police personnel and the community at large The LBPD is also concerned with its ability to function and continue to provide its full spectrum of services should many police personnel test positive with COVID-19. To enhance efforts to prevent infection of the coronavirus, the Department has been awarded $657,554 by the Department of Justice for the operational period of January 20, 2020 to January 31, 2022. These funds will be used for: increasing the use of technology to maintain social distancing and reduce the need to gather personnel and the public in confined spaces; increasing language translation services to communicate various orders and enforcement documents; crisis leadership training for LBPD command staff; disinfection and cleaning of police facilities and vehicles; and purchasing washable uniforms to replace current wool uniforms. There is no local match requirement for this grant.
This recommendation has no staffing impact beyond the normal budgeted scope of duties and is consistent with existing City Council priorities.
SUGGESTED ACTION
Approve recommendation.
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[Enter Body Here]
Respectfully Submitted,
JOHN GROSS
DIRECTOR OF FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT
APPROVED:
THOMAS B. MODICA
CITY MANAGER