DATE: September 22, 2020
TO: Board of Supervisors
SUBMITTED BY: Supervisor Brandau and Supervisor Pacheco
SUBJECT: Authorize funding from Federal CARES Act funding for 14 cities in Fresno County for COVID-19 related programs
RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
TITLE
Authorize funding to 14 of Fresno County incorporated cities to address COVID-19 issues within their jurisdictions using Federal CARES Act funding in the amount of $3,000,000 as detailed in Exhibit A to be expended by December 30, 2020.
REPORT
ALTERNATIVE ACTION(S):
Your Board could choose to take no action.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no increase in Net County Cost associated with the recommended action. The County of Fresno received $81,579,507 of CARES Act funding on April 22, 2020. In addition, the recently passed State of California FY 2020-21 Budget allocates an additional $16,438,000 of the State's share of CARES Act funding for a total of $98,017,507. The proposed action utilizes $3,000,000 of the County's CARES Act funding for reimbursement and support for programs in Fresno County's 14 cities outside the City of Fresno.
DISCUSSION:
The smaller cities in Fresno County (Clovis, Coalinga, Firebaugh, Fowler, Huron, Kerman, Kingsburg, Mendota, Orange Cove, Parlier, Reedley, San Joaquin, Sanger, and Selma) received CARES Act funding through a $500 million allocation from the State of California. However, the amounts are disproportionately smaller than the funding communities of more than 500,000 residents received through federal CARES Act allocations.
Many smaller cities are disproportionately affected by COVID-19 because of the types of households and workforces in those communities. The caseloads are thus disproportionately higher than in the Fresno-Clovis metropolitan area.
As these cities face COVID-19 issues, their budgets have been significantly impacted. Almost without exception, members of the cities' staffs say they are unable to meet many of the new needs and concerns of their reside...
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