REPORT/RECOMMENDATION TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
OF THE COUNTY OF SAN BERNARDINO
AND RECORD OF ACTION
October 6, 2020
FROM
GARY McBRIDE, Chief Executive Officer, County Administrative Office
SUBJECT
Title
COVID-19 Response: CARES Act Funding Spending Plan
End
RECOMMENDATION(S)
Recommendation
1. CONTINUED FROM TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2020, ITEM NO. 26: Authorize the Chief Executive Officer to transfer allocations between categories identified within the Spending Plan or between Allocations in the Spending Plan with the other Board approved CARES Act Allocations under Recommendation No. 2, upon consultation with the Chairman of the Board of Supervisors.
2. ALTERNATIVE 1: Require the CEO to present any changes in transfer allocations between categories identified within the Spending Plan to the Board of Supervisors for approval.
(Presenter: Gary McBride, Chief Executive Officer, 387-5417)
Body
COUNTY AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER GOALS & OBJECTIVES
Promote the Countywide Vision.
Improve County Government Operations.
Operate in a Fiscally-Responsible and Business-Like Manner.
Provide for the Safety, Health and Social Service Needs of County Residents.
Pursue County Goals and Objectives by Working with Other Agencies.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
Approval of this item will not result in the use of Discretionary General Funding (Net County Cost).
On April 21, 2020 (Item No. 27), the Board of Supervisors (Board) accepted a $380.4 million allocation of CARES Act funding from the United States Department of Treasury. Subsequently on July 14, 2020 (Item No. 24) the Board accepted a $50.2 million allocation of CARES Act funding from the State of California Department of Finance. Combined, the County is in receipt of $430.6 million of CARES Act funding that is to be used to respond to the effects of the Coronavirus pandemic. On September 29, 2020 (Item No. 26), the Board approved the Spending Plan for these funds.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
The CARES Act, signed into law on March 27, 2020, created the Coronavirus Relief Fund, which provides a total of $150.0 billion in federal fiscal support for state and local governments. Section 5001(d) of the CARES Act provides the eligible purposes for which Coronavirus Relief Fund allocations may be used. Specifically, it allows state and local governments to make payments for programs if they are necessary expenditures incurred due to the public health emergency with respect to the COVID-19 pandemic, were not accounted for in the budget most recently approved as of the date of enactment of the CARES Act (March 27, 2020), and are incurred during the period that begins on March 1, 2020 and ends on December 30, 2020.
The County is in receipt of CARES Act funding totaling $430.6 million. The County’s response to the pandemic has been extensive and costs will continue to be incurred past the December 30th termination of CARES Act funding. These efforts by the County include, but are not limited to: testing and contact tracing, temporary housing for at risk portions of the homeless population, medical and behavioral health costs at our clinics, hospital, and detention facilities, PPE purchases, COVID related employee medical leaves, the skilled nursing task force, changes in operations in our detention facilities, support to businesses and non-profits, substantially increasing the ability for our employees to telework so that the County could continue to serve the public, regular communication to the public and through the Joint Information Center and multiple other communication channels, and the preparation of alternate care sites to support our hospitals. Continued response and mitigation efforts conducted by the County are projected to require an additional $141.1 million through the remainder of the calendar year.
On September 29, 2020 (Item No. 26), the Board of Supervisors (Board) approved a CARES Act Spending Plan in the amount of up to $118,161.713 for the period March 1, 2020 through December 30, 2020 to support the community’s response to the coronavirus pandemic. At this meeting, the Board also approved standard contract templates to allow the County to execute agreements with community partners, such as cities, schools, private hospitals and non-profits, for use of the allocations and projects identified in the Spending Plan, of which the latter included the COVID Compliant Business Program, and Technology projects. Included in this agenda item on September 29, 2020 (Item No. 26) was a fifth recommendation to authorize the Chief Executive Officer to transfer allocations between categories identified within the Spending Plan or between allocations in the Spending Plan with other Board-approved CARES Act allocations identified in the agenda item upon consultation with the Chairman of the Board. Under the Alternative recommendation, the CEO would present any transfers of allocations between categories in the Spending Plan to the Board for approval.
PROCUREMENT
N/A
REVIEW BY OTHERS
This item has been reviewed by County Counsel (Michelle Blakemore, County Counsel, 387-5455) on October 1, 2020; Finance (Stephenie Shea, Administrative Analyst, 387-4919) on October 1, 2020; and County Finance (Matthew Erickson, County Chief Financial Officer, 387-5423) on October 1, 2020.