Subject:
Title
Brevard County receipt of $105M under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act).
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Fiscal Impact:
The County received $105M allocation from the CARES Act. These funds may be used for necessary expenditures incurred for the COVID-19 emergency response.
Dept/Office:
County Manager’s Office
Requested Action:
Recommendation
It is requested that the Board of County Commissioners approve staff recommendations concerning expenses related to the response to the COVID-19 pandemic which were not budgeted in FY 2019/2020; authorize expenditure of CARES Act funding to reimburse the County for eligible expenditures already incurred from March 1, 2020; pay for upcoming qualified expenditures through December 30, 2020. Staff is also requesting Board direction concerning development and implementation of other Cares Act programs eligible for reimbursement and authorize the County Manager to approve all necessary Budget Change Requests.
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Summary Explanation and Background:
Pursuant to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), Brevard County was eligible to directly receive $105M based upon its population. The monies were received on April 23, 2020. In order to receive the money, the County had to certify that the monies (1) would only be used for necessary expenditures incurred for the COVID-19 public health emergency response; (2) were not accounted for in the FY 2019-2020 Budget; and (3) are used for expenditures that will be incurred during the period that began on March 1, 2020 and ends on December 30, 2020.
Staff has incurred, and recommends the Board approve continuing the following CARES Act-eligible expenditures needs for the County, Court System, Charter Offices and municipalities and corresponding reimbursement where appropriate for the following:
• Personal Protective Equipment (PPE);
• Emergency medical response/transport;
• Public Safety COVID-19 Response ( to also include Emergency Management and Medical Examiner);
• Communication/Enforcement Government response to public health orders;
• Quarantine Expenses;
• Disinfection of public areas and work spaces - public facilities, courtrooms (including contactor expenses, government labor expense and supplies);
• Payroll Expenses - Public Safety, Health, Human Services, dedicated COVID-19;
• Sick, family leave expenses, that comply with COVID-19 precaution (Family First);
• County Jail - Sanitization and Social Distancing;
• Telework Expenses - Comply w/COVID-19 precautions, (software, hardware, cell phones, bandwidth); and
• Non-congregate sheltering;
Additionally, staff is seeking direction on whether the Board may wish to consider expending CARES Act funding on other eligible programs to include:
• Food delivery to seniors and other vulnerable populations (through Meals on Wheels, food banks, etc);
• Housing and/or utilities assistance - mortgage and rent;
• Small business - business interruption grants;
• Payroll support program and unemployment support if not otherwise covered by state or federal assistance, etc.
If the Board were to consider one or more of these types of aid, staff is prepared to reach out to the League of Cities for their input on criteria and for any such programs the Board may wish to explore implementing. Staff is also reaching out to various entities such as the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO), the Economic Development Commission (EDC), and the School Board to obtain numbers of the unemployed (pre and post COVID-19) small businesses; and the number of children who may not be served food once ‘school’ is out, etc., which may assist in gauging need for the types of programs referenced above. A limitation of an overall dollar amount for each aid category, a ‘cap’ on an amount to an individual or business, eligibility criteria for the aid, ability to credibly document the need for the aid, etc. would need to be determined and approved at a future date.
The County is responsible for the expenditure of all CARES Act dollars received. If the distribution or expenditure are later found to not have been used in compliance with the CARES Act and the Federal regulations, the County will be responsible for reimbursing the Federal government. There remains a variety of outstanding questions regarding how the CARES Act money can be used. It is assumed at this point that the funds can be shared with the municipalities and the Charter Officers. For that reason, staff has contacted the municipalities, Sheriff, Tax Collector, Property Appraiser, Supervisor of Elections, Clerk of the Court and Court Administrator to ascertain their needs and projected costs. Staff is consulting with the Florida Association of Counties, participating in peer groups with other Florida Counties, and seeking guidance to ensure a thorough understanding of eligibility and requirements before approving expenditures.
Some entities may be getting funding from other federal and state sources that would cover some of their COVID-19 related needs referenced herein which will need to be factored in when additional guidance is received.
Clerk to the Board Instructions: