Jessica Cejnar / Today @ 5:52 pm / Local government

Del Norte County supervisors, staff think about how to spend the US bailout dollars; First allocation, $ 2.7 million, arrived in May

Previously:

• The renovation of the prison is not among the proposals for projects financed by the community; Del Norte County to Receive $ 5.4 Million in US Rescue Plan

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Del Norte County elected officials and staff are still looking to spend around $ 2.7 million on the US bailout dollars that arrived about two months ago.

There is no rush, Greg Burns of Thorn Run Partners, the county attorney in Washington DC, told supervisors on Monday. And while there are rules about what they can and can’t do with money, there is also a lot of flexibility.

Leaving it in an interest-bearing account and figuring out how to use that interest is an option, according to Burns.

“The intention is to work with the administrative team and the rest of the county staff to come up with different ideas, which we intend to present to you,” he said.

Del Norte County is expected to receive $ 5.4 million from the US bailout, Burns told county supervisors in May. The first half arrived in May while the second half is expected next year, he said.

The $ 2.7 million is currently in the county treasury, county administrator Neal Lopez told supervisors.

“It’s just another source of income,” Lopez said. “It’s a unique source of income. We are looking to develop a spending plan over the next three to four fiscal years.

Approved by Congress earlier this year, the US bailout includes $ 350 billion nationwide for local and state coronavirus tax recovery funds, which are administered by the US Treasury Department, which has since released an “interim final rule” to define how the money can be used, according to Burns.

The Treasury Department is expected to provide a final set of recommendations and guidelines using input from state and national organizations, Burns said.

“You have a lot of latitude to spend your local funds,” he said. “It’s supposed to cover the period from March 3, 2021, when the US bailout was enacted, until the end of 2024, and you need to have a plan to spend it by that date, but you don’t have to spend all the funds until 2026.

Recipients can use dollars from the Coronavirus State and Local Recovery Fund to support the public health response to the COVID-19 pandemic; address the negative impacts of the pandemic on the local economy; replace lost public sector revenue; provide a wage premium to essential workers and invest in water, sewage and broadband infrastructure.

According to Burns, supporting the public health response also includes capital improvements for community living facilities such as prisons.

In May, Burns discussed submitting a request for community-funded projects dollars to renovate the Del Norte County Jail to Senators Dianne Feinstein and Alex Padilla. A previous request to U.S. Representative Jared Huffman was unsuccessful because the congressman could only submit 10 items to the appropriations committee.

On Monday, Burns said other ways to use US bailout dollars to support the public health response to the pandemic covered the wage costs of public employees whose work was linked to the pandemic.

“These are not supposed to be funds spent to replace the wage costs of public employees before March of this year,” he said. “It’s supposed to be in the future, so the spending continues to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. This includes public safety people, public health people, social services – any staff you have. “

Burns noted that offsetting salary costs for staff who responded to the pandemic could free up those dollars to be spent on other priorities.

Regarding the negative economic impacts of the pandemic, Burns said support has already come to individuals, businesses and other entities through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act and other provisions of the American Rescue Plan Act.

Although he suggested the county be careful not to duplicate benefits, Burns said the county’s US bailout allocation could be used to provide loans and grants to small businesses and non-profit organizations. lucrative. Those dollars can also be used to offer rental, mortgage and utility assistance, especially as the moratorium on evictions ends soon, Burns said.

One item, Burns, said the county may not be able to spend its US bailout allocation to replace lost public sector revenue, which was possible under a “very specific definition and very specific rules and guidelines “.

“In my conversations with the county administrative team, I am not sure that you have the right to use the funds in this way, as I am not sure that you have suffered sufficient loss of income, again , as defined by the Treasury Department, ”he said.

This did not please Del Norte County Oversight Board chairman Chris Howard, who noted there were “net losses” in transitional occupancy tax, or hotel bed tax, in April, May and June 2020 dollars.

“Even though our TOT was up for a 12 month period, our second quarter income for April, May and June was nil – we had virtually no income for those periods with TOT,” Howard said. “It’s a loss of public revenue due to a lack of tourism for our community, I don’t see how that could escape definitions.”

According to Lopez, the determination that Del Norte did not suffer a loss of public sector revenue came from a formula from the US Department of the Treasury the Office of the Comptroller had to use. Rather than analyzing Del Norte’s income month by month, they looked at his annual income, according to Lopez.

Howard noted that April, May and June 2020 was a bad quarter.

“No income was generated, but the remaining year, fortunately because restrictions were lifted in various sectors, this income was made and realized 10 times in some cases,” he said. “So I can see how a formula could mess us up in this situation.”

As for investing in water, sewage and broadband infrastructure, Burns said he and the county administration had discussed carrying out feasibility studies or planning activities for components of the sewage system that are in the county.

On broadband, Burns said the county needs to be specific about the results they hope for.

“If this is a board priority, it might be worth digging into the details,” he said. “We would need to get back to you once we hear that you would like to invest in broadband. “

Although he had no questions, District 4 Supervisor Gerry Hemmingsen noted that to get the most out of his $ 5.4 million the county would have to find a way to leverage those dollars. .

“We’re going to want to use these funds in a way that will help us in the future,” he said. “I think that’s the list we need to come up with and the board will give direction at that point once we have that list in hand. We seem to have a lot of flexibility.

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