Written by Michael Palomba
The San Diego County Board of Supervisors has decided to share the CARES Act funds, allocated to the county by the federal government, with smaller cities. Many small cities were not given money directly from the federal government because federal guidelines only provided funds to cities with a population of 500,000 or more.
This is a big relief to small cities that have been hit hard by the medical and economic consequences of the coronavirus pandemic and were worried they wouldn’t receive enough aid.
Escondido City Manager Jeffrey Epp said that the city is grateful for the assistance. “Our share is a little more than $2 million and we will be using it wisely!” Epp said. “We are looking at two general areas: first, reimbursement for incurred COVID-19 expenses, and then a second related category of expenses which would be in connection with our economic development/small business assistance efforts.”
Oceanside Assistant City Manager Michael Grossman wants to spend most of Oceanside’s share of assistance on payroll expenses and reconfiguring public facilities to comply with social distancing. He also said that Oceanside’s staff proposal will go to the City Council on June 17.
“We plan to use the funding to provide assistance to small businesses, provide housing assistance to those that don’t qualify for other programs, help vulnerable populations get testing, and cover some city expenses related to the pandemic,” wrote Imperial Beach City Manager Andy Hall.
Chula Vista City Spokeswoman Anne Steinberger said that while the city is still deciding how they’ll spend their funds, a wide array of needs will be focused on. “We anticipate utilizing the funds to support our COVID related responses in the city including: police, fire, and public works support for food drives, vaccination events, and public safety awareness; economic development efforts to help small businesses navigate the various federal funding programs; personal protective equipment for city staff; and supplies and equipment required for remote functionality of city operations,” Steinberger wrote in an email.
Cities will have to sign a contract with the county and pledge to use the funds for coronavirus-related costs. Additionally, they’ll need a detailed spending plan. Some permitted uses include emergency aid and business loans or grants, as well as paying for first responders or enforcement of public health orders.
“On July 31, cities will detail to the county how they have used CARES Act funds to date. By September 30, cities should exhaust all CARES Act funds and deliver a final report to the county,” said County Spokeswoman Sarah Sweeney. “If a city does not utilize all of its CARES Act funds or if it spends the funds on an unallowable expense, the city is required to pay that portion of CARES Act funds back to the county.”
The deadline for the county to spend the money is December 30. After that, they run the risk of having to return the funds to the federal government. This CARES Act funding has proven to be a much-needed boost to struggling cities, both large and small.
