|
Back to Calendar
Return
|
| |
Regular-General Government # 35.
|
| Board of Supervisors |
Financial Services |
|
|
|
| Subject |
| Receive update on the CARES Act Expenditure Plan and adopt a budget resolution amending the 2019-20 revenues and appropriations. (No general fund impact) (4/5 vote required) (Rinde/Haynes) |
| Recommended Action |
- Receive update on the CARES Act Expenditure Plan; and
- Adopt a budget resolution to amend the 2019-20 revenues and appropriations.
|
| Strategic Plan Goal(s) |
 |
Thriving Residents |
 |
Safe Communities |
 |
Flourishing Agriculture |
 |
Robust Economy |
|
| Reason for Recommended Action/Background |
On July 21, the Board of Supervisors received a presentation on the initial CARES Act expenditure plan for Yolo County, and approved a CARES Act policy that guides execution of the plan. Among other provisions, the CARES Act policy authorizes the County Administrator to adjust the expenditure plan to ensure funding is expended within the allowable timeframe, and requires monthly updates on the expenditure plan to be presented to the Board. This report provides the first monthly update on the CARES expenditure plan.
Since the initial CARES expenditure plan was presented to the Board on July 21, a number of changes have occurred. Attachment A reflects the revised CARES expenditure plan, and highlights the changes that have been made from the initial plan. While many of the changes are due to revised cost estimates as projects are refined or closed out, there are a few notable changes that bear highlighting:
- Estimated emergency response costs increased by approximately $480,000 due to higher COVID-19 testing costs, partially offset by lower investigation and contact tracing costs due to the use of state contact tracers;
- Funding for Social Service public assistance costs increased by $600,000 reflecting estimated caseload increases;
- Funding for Community Support programs increased by $800,000 due to the addition of funding for the Food Bank and an Agriculture worker income replacement program, and an increase in funding for small business support;
- County Continuity of Operation costs increased by approximately $366,000 due to inclusion of additional departmental costs and an allocation to support increased demand for Yolo 211.
As a result of these changes, revised project costs were estimated to exceed Yolo County’s allotment of CARES Act funds by approximately $2.1 million. As a result, the decision was made to continue to pursue FEMA reimbursements for a number of projects, including the Emergency Operations Center (EOC), Department Operations Center (DOC), and the prior Food Bank purchase and delivery of food program. This strategy reduces the amount of CARES funding that is needed for these projects, and allows the CARES expenditure plan to remain in balance.
One consequence of the strategy to pursue FEMA funding is that less funding is currently available to replenish County fund balances, as FEMA reimbursement may not be expected for at least 12-18 months. In addition, there is a risk that certain costs may be disallowed or found ineligible by FEMA, which may necessitate the use of the Audit Disallowance Reserve in future years. Finally, due to the anticipated lag time for FEMA reimbursement, the General Fund was required to provide an additional $949,000 in bridge funding to HHSA to balance out the DOC costs in 2019-20. As this funding was not included in the 2019-20 budget, staff recommends the Board approve the budget resolution reflected in Attachment B.
Finally, the revised CARES expenditure plan in Attachment A shows that just $3.8 million in planned costs have actually been reimbursed by CARES Act funds to-date. While this is partially due to certain projects ramping up in July and August, as well as a lag time in processing reimbursements, the pace of expenditures will need to increase significantly in coming months to ensure that CARES Act funds are spent before the December 30 deadline. Staff will continue to work diligently with project leads to monitor expenditure trends and ensure that reimbursements are processed timely. However, additional strategies may need to be considered in the coming months. This may include the option of reallocating resources to CARES categories that have the ability to spend quickly and effectively as well as the potential option of using CARES Act funds to pay for allowable public safety staffing costs, if project expenditures do not materialize as currently planned. This strategy of reimbursing public safety costs would likely need to be paired with other measures to ensure the County’s continued ability to pay for COVID-19 disaster-related costs. |
| Collaborations (including Board advisory groups and external partner agencies) |
| The Department of Financial Services has worked closely with the County Administrator's Office to develop and refine the CARES expenditure plan. The revised plan was presented to the Board Chair and Vice Chair on August 24, 2020. |
|
| Fiscal Impact |
|
|
| Source of Funds for this Expenditure |
|
|
Explanation (Expenditure and/or Revenue) |
| Further explanation as needed: |
On July 21 the Board adopted a budget resolution to appropriate CARES Act funds. Any required budget changes resulting from the revised CARES expenditure plan will be included in the 2020-21 Adopted Budget, which will be presented to the Board on September 29.
A budget resolution to amend the 2019-20 budget is included in the current item in order to provide additional bridge funding to HHSA to cover the Department Operation Center costs pending FEMA reimbursement. |
|
|
|
|
|