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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2.b. COVID Update (July 2020) EXECUTIVE SUMMARY City Council Work Session: July 7, 2020 AGENDA SECTION: AGENDA ITEM: COVID Update Discussion PREPARED BY: Logan Martin, City Administrator AGENDA NO. 2.b. ATTACHMENTS: CARES Act Guidance for Local Gov’t APPROVED BY: LJM RECOMMENDED ACTION: Information item only. BACKGROUND The Federal legislation known as the CARES Act created the Coronavirus Relief Fund, which allocated $150 billion to state and local governments to support the nationwide response to the pandemic. With Governor Walz and the Legislature recently agreeing to distribute MN’s allotment of funds to local governments, staff has been working with the League of MN Cities (LMC) and MN Management and Budget (MMB) to better understand how funds will be distributed and what expenses are eligible. Based on the per capita distribution developed by MMB, Rosemount will receive $1,833,933 in CARES Act funds. These funds are anticipated to arrive by the end of July. Due to the fast-moving nature of this program, there has been confusion about eligible expenses and uses for these funds. The attached FAQ sheet from the US Treasury provides the best answers to date. In short, the CARES Act provides funds to cover costs that: 1. are necessary expenditures incurred due to the public health emergency with respect to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID–19); 2. were not accounted for in the budget most recently approved as of March 27, 2020, and 3. were incurred during the period that begins on March 1, 2020 and ends on December 30, 2020 The guidance goes on to establish six broad categories of eligible expenditures, such as medical & public health expenses, payroll for public safety and public health, economic support to businesses effected by mandated closures, and more. Significant discussion has centered around item 2 above, regarding replacement of funds that were not accounted for in the most recent budget. That analysis is ongoing at the state and local level, and results will be key in determining funds we can use specifically for payroll costs. Staff will engage the Council in a discussion and preliminary analysis of what expenditures the City can likely consider for these funds. No decisions are required at this time, however MMB has recommended that the City Council “authorize” certain areas of expenditures in the future to create a history of confirmation and analysis by local elected officials. RECOMMENDATION Information item only. 1 Coronavirus Relief Fund Guidance for State, Territorial, Local, and Tribal Governments Updated June 30, 2020 1 The purpose of this document is to provide guidance to recipients of the funding available under section 601(a) of the Social Security Act, as added by section 5001 of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act”). The CARES Act established the Coronavirus Relief Fund (the “Fund”) and appropriated $150 billion to the Fund. Under the CARES Act, the Fund is to be used to make payments for specified uses to States and certain local governments; the District of Columbia and U.S. Territories (consisting of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands); and Tribal governments. The CARES Act provides that payments from the Fund may only be used to cover costs that— 1. are necessary expenditures incurred due to the public health emergency with respect to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID–19); 2. were not accounted for in the budget most recently approved as of March 27, 2020 (the date of enactment of the CARES Act) for the State or government; and 3. were incurred during the period that begins on March 1, 2020, and ends on December 30, 2020.2 The guidance that follows sets forth the Department of the Treasury’s interpretation of these limitations on the permissible use of Fund payments. Necessary expenditures incurred due to the public health emergency The requirement that expenditures be incurred “due to” the public health emergency means that expenditures must be used for actions taken to respond to the public health emergency. These may include expenditures incurred to allow the State, territorial, local, or Tribal government to respond directly to the emergency, such as by addressing medical or public health needs, as well as expenditures incurred to respond to second-order effects of the emergency, such as by providing economic support to those suffering from employment or business interruptions due to COVID-19-related business closures. Funds may not be used to fill shortfalls in government revenue to cover expenditures that would not otherwise qualify under the statute. Although a broad range of uses is allowed, revenue replacement is not a permissible use of Fund payments. The statute also specifies that expenditures using Fund payments must be “necessary.” The Department of the Treasury understands this term broadly to mean that the expenditure is reasonably necessary for its intended use in the reasonable judgment of the government officials responsible for spending Fund payments. Costs not accounted for in the budget most recently approved as of March 27, 2020 The CARES Act also requires that payments be used only to cover costs that were not accounted for in the budget most recently approved as of March 27, 2020. A cost meets this requirement if either (a) the 1 This version updates the guidance provided under “Costs incurred during the period that begins on March 1, 2020, and ends on December 30, 2020”. 2 See Section 601(d) of the Social Security Act, as added by section 5001 of the CARES Act. 2 cost cannot lawfully be funded using a line item, allotment, or allocation within that budget or (b) the cost is for a substantially different use from any expected use of funds in such a line item, allotment, or allocation. The “most recently approved” budget refers to the enacted budget for the relevant fiscal period for the particular government, without taking into account subsequent supplemental appropriations enacted or other budgetary adjustments made by that government in response to the COVID-19 public health emergency. A cost is not considered to have been accounted for in a budget merely because it could be met using a budgetary stabilization fund, rainy day fund, or similar reserve account. Costs incurred during the period that begins on March 1, 2020, and ends on December 30, 2020 Finally, the CARES Act provides that payments from the Fund may only be used to cover costs that were incurred during the period that begins on March 1, 2020, and ends on December 30, 2020 (the “covered period”). Putting this requirement together with the other provisions discussed above, section 601(d) may be summarized as providing that a State, local, or tribal government may use payments from the Fund only to cover previously unbudgeted costs of necessary expenditures incurred due to the COVID–19 public health emergency during the covered period. Initial guidance released on April 22, 2020, provided that the cost of an expenditure is incurred when the recipient has expended funds to cover the cost. Upon further consideration and informed by an understanding of State, local, and tribal government practices, Treasury is clarifying that for a cost to be considered to have been incurred, performance or delivery must occur during the covered period but payment of funds need not be made during that time (though it is generally expected that this will take place within 90 days of a cost being incurred). For instance, in the case of a lease of equipment or other property, irrespective of when payment occurs, the cost of a lease payment shall be considered to have been incurred for the period of the lease that is within the covered period, but not otherwise. Furthermore, in all cases it must be necessary that performance or delivery take place during the covered period. Thus the cost of a good or service received during the covered period will not be considered eligible under section 601(d) if there is no need for receipt until after the covered period has expired. Goods delivered in the covered period need not be used during the covered period in all cases. For example, the cost of a good that must be delivered in December in order to be available for use in January could be covered using payments from the Fund. Additionally, the cost of goods purchased in bulk and delivered during the covered period may be covered using payments from the Fund if a portion of the goods is ordered for use in the covered period, the bulk purchase is consistent with the recipient’s usual procurement policies and practices, and it is impractical to track and record when the items were used. A recipient may use payments from the Fund to purchase a durable good that is to be used during the current period and in subsequent periods if the acquisition in the covered period was necessary due to the public health emergency. Given that it is not always possible to estimate with precision when a good or service will be needed, the touchstone in assessing the determination of need for a good or service during the covered period will be reasonableness at the time delivery or performance was sought, e.g., the time of entry into a procurement contract specifying a time for delivery. Similarly, in recognition of the likelihood of supply chain disruptions and increased demand for certain goods and services during the COVID-19 public health emergency, if a recipient enters into a contract requiring the delivery of goods or performance of services by December 30, 2020, the failure of a vendor to complete delivery or services by December 30, 2020, will not affect the ability of the recipient to use payments from the Fund to cover the cost of such goods or services if the delay is due to circumstances beyond the recipient’s control. 3 This guidance applies in a like manner to costs of subrecipients. Thus, a grant or loan, for example, provided by a recipient using payments from the Fund must be used by the subrecipient only to purchase (or reimburse a purchase of) goods or services for which receipt both is needed within the covered period and occurs within the covered period. The direct recipient of payments from the Fund is ultimately responsible for compliance with this limitation on use of payments from the Fund. Nonexclusive examples of eligible expenditures Eligible expenditures include, but are not limited to, payment for: 1. Medical expenses such as: • COVID-19-related expenses of public hospitals, clinics, and similar facilities. • Expenses of establishing temporary public medical facilities and other measures to increase COVID-19 treatment capacity, including related construction costs. • Costs of providing COVID-19 testing, including serological testing. • Emergency medical response expenses, including emergency medical transportation, related to COVID-19. • Expenses for establishing and operating public telemedicine capabilities for COVID-19- related treatment. 2. Public health expenses such as: • Expenses for communication and enforcement by State, territorial, local, and Tribal governments of public health orders related to COVID-19. • Expenses for acquisition and distribution of medical and protective supplies, including sanitizing products and personal protective equipment, for medical personnel, police officers, social workers, child protection services, and child welfare officers, direct service providers for older adults and individuals with disabilities in community settings, and other public health or safety workers in connection with the COVID-19 public health emergency. • Expenses for disinfection of public areas and other facilities, e.g., nursing homes, in response to the COVID-19 public health emergency. • Expenses for technical assistance to local authorities or other entities on mitigation of COVID-19-related threats to public health and safety. • Expenses for public safety measures undertaken in response to COVID-19. • Expenses for quarantining individuals. 3. Payroll expenses for public safety, public health, health care, human services, and similar employees whose services are substantially dedicated to mitigating or responding to the COVID- 19 public health emergency. 4. Expenses of actions to facilitate compliance with COVID-19-related public health measures, such as: • Expenses for food delivery to residents, including, for example, senior citizens and other vulnerable populations, to enable compliance with COVID-19 public health precautions. • Expenses to facilitate distance learning, including technological improvements, in connection with school closings to enable compliance with COVID-19 precautions. • Expenses to improve telework capabilities for public employees to enable compliance with COVID-19 public health precautions. 4 • Expenses of providing paid sick and paid family and medical leave to public employees to enable compliance with COVID-19 public health precautions. • COVID-19-related expenses of maintaining state prisons and county jails, including as relates to sanitation and improvement of social distancing measures, to enable compliance with COVID-19 public health precautions. • Expenses for care for homeless populations provided to mitigate COVID-19 effects and enable compliance with COVID-19 public health precautions. 5. Expenses associated with the provision of economic support in connection with the COVID-19 public health emergency, such as: • Expenditures related to the provision of grants to small businesses to reimburse the costs of business interruption caused by required closures. • Expenditures related to a State, territorial, local, or Tribal government payroll support program. • Unemployment insurance costs related to the COVID-19 public health emergency if such costs will not be reimbursed by the federal government pursuant to the CARES Act or otherwise. 6. Any other COVID-19-related expenses reasonably necessary to the function of government that satisfy the Fund’s eligibility criteria. Nonexclusive examples of ineligible expenditures 3 The following is a list of examples of costs that would not be eligible expenditures of payments from the Fund. 1. Expenses for the State share of Medicaid.4 2. Damages covered by insurance. 3. Payroll or benefits expenses for employees whose work duties are not substantially dedicated to mitigating or responding to the COVID-19 public health emergency. 4. Expenses that have been or will be reimbursed under any federal program, such as the reimbursement by the federal government pursuant to the CARES Act of contributions by States to State unemployment funds. 5. Reimbursement to donors for donated items or services. 6. Workforce bonuses other than hazard pay or overtime. 7. Severance pay. 8. Legal settlements. 3 In addition, pursuant to section 5001(b) of the CARES Act, payments from the Fund may not be expended for an elective abortion or on research in which a human embryo is destroyed, discarded, or knowingly subjected to risk of injury or death. The prohibition on payment for abortions does not apply to an abortion if the pregnancy is the result of an act of rape or incest; or in the case where a woman suffers from a physical disorder, physical injury, or physical illness, including a life-endangering physical condition caused by or arising from the pregnancy itself, that would, as certified by a physician, place the woman in danger of death unless an abortion is performed. Furthermore, no government which receives payments from the Fund may discriminate against a health care entity on the basis that the entity does not provide, pay for, provide coverage of, or refer for abortions. 4 See 42 C.F.R. § 433.51 and 45 C.F.R. § 75.306.