Title
a. Receive the County’s Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economics Security (CARES) Expenditure Progress Report from key departments for the period ending June 30, 2020; and
b. Provide direction to staff.
Report
RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the Board of Supervisors:
a. Receive the County’s Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economics Security (CARES) Expenditure Progress Report from key departments for the period ending June 30, 2020; and,
b. Provide direction to staff.
SUMMARY/ DISCUSSION:
The Board of Supervisors approved the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economics Security (CARES) Act funding plan on August 18, 2020, providing funding for various County departments to be used toward homelessness, public health, public safety, and other services to combat the COVID-19 pandemic in the community. Monterey County (County) is eligible to receive an allocation of $44.9 million of CARES funding. To receive these funds, the County had to submit a certification by July 10, 2020 to the State of California (State) which required the County to Comply with requirements of Control Section of 11.90 of the Budget Act of 2020. Section 11.90 of the Budget Act requires the County to submit expenditure reports to the State.
In addition, the County must spend the funds in activities that:
• Are necessary expenditures incurred due to the public health emergency with respect to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19);
• Were not accounted for in the budget most recently approved as of March 27, 2020, for Monterey County; and,
• Were incurred during the period that begins on March 1, 2020 and ends on December 30, 2020.
The County also had to adhere to the following requirements:
• Adhere to federal guidance and the State’s stay-at-home requirements and other health requirements as directed in gubernatorial Executive Order N-33-20, any subsequent Executive Orders or statutes, and all California Department of Public Health Orders, directives, and guidance in response to COVID-19 emergency;
• Report on expenditures and summarize regional collaboration and non-duplication of efforts within the region by September 1, 2020, return any funds that are unspent by October 30, 2020 (unless extended by the Department of Finance based on reported expenditures to date), and repay the State for any cost disallowed after federal review; and,
• Retain records to support reported COVID-19 eligible expenditures and participate in audits as outlined by the federal government and State.
In accordance with these requirements, the County Administrative Office worked with Departments to gather financial expenditures incurred from March 1, 2020 to June 30, 2020, to report the progress of expenditures to the State. The report covers expenditures through June 30, as this is what is required by the State. Many expenditures covered by CARES during the reporting period did not have a funding source, so CARES funding was able to provide retroactive funding for many important pandemic response activities. Based on the information provided, the County was able to submit the expenditure report to the State by its September 4, 2020 deadline. Attachment A to this report summarizes expenditure data submitted by departments and reported to the State by the required deadline.
As of the date of this report, only the District Attorney’s Department indicated it will not spend its allocation generating savings of $533,695. A detailed expenditures report will be presented by the following departments during the Board’s meeting for the period of July 1, 2020 to December 30, 2020. The departmental report will focus on estimated expenditures and potential issues with spending their allocated amounts by December 30, 2020.
• Health
• Social Services
• CAO
• Sheriff
• District Attorney
An updated report will be presented the following month by each department.
OTHER AGENCY INVOLVEMENT:
Various County departments s participated in providing data for the expenditure report.
FINANCING:
Receipt of the CARES expenditure report does not have a financial impact for the County; however, departments will present information which may lead to CARES funding allocation changes.
BOARD OF SUPERVISORS STRATEGIC INITIATIVES:
The recommendation to approve the CARES Spending Plan for the County of Monterey is consistent with the Board of Supervisors’ Strategic Initiative for Administration.
Check the related Board of Supervisors Strategic Initiatives:
__Economic Development
_X_Administration
__Health & Human Services
__Infrastructure
__Public Safety
Prepared by: Ezequiel Vega, County Budget Director, ext. 3078
Approved by: Charles McKee, County Administrative Officer
Attachments: Attachment A - CARES Expenditure Progress by Department