Draft City Council Resolution Regarding CARES ACT Allocations - referenced by Sylnovia in the May 18 Arts Commission meeting — original pdf

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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 RESOLUTION NO. WHEREAS, on March 6, 2020, the City of Austin and Travis County both declared a local state of disaster due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) and issued measures to reduce the possibility of exposure and promote the health and safety of City of Austin/Travis County residents; and WHEREAS, On March 13, 2020, Governor Abbott declared a state of disaster for all Texas counties due to the spread of COVID-19; and WHEREAS, in alignment with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and advice from local health authorities, subsequent executive orders in the City of Austin, Travis County, Williamson County, and the State of Texas have limited business operations and human social interactions to protect and promote public health; and WHEREAS, these and other necessary measures taken by jurisdictions across the United States and the world to control the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic have limited public interactions, closed schools and businesses, and resulted in economic uncertainty that has left an unprecedented number of Austin residents facing unemployment or underemployment; and WHEREAS, since the beginning of the crisis, the City Council of the City of Austin has responded to this through several actions , including Ordinance No. 20200326-090 and Resolution Nos. 20200326-091, 20200326-092, 20200409-079, 20200409-081, 20200409-086, and 20200423-040 each of which respond to needs of Austin residents amid the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic, and open a path toward relief in economic strain for individuals and businesses during this crisis; and 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 WHEREAS, the City has been able to launch several programs to date, however, currently launched programs have already received more requests for assistance than there are available funds; and WHEREAS, on March 27, 2020, the CARES Act, was signed into law, which authorized $2 trillion in federal economic relief through a stimulus infusion into housing and public health programs, as well as direct financial assistance and additional unemployment benefits to individuals, allocating $170 million to the City of Austin with an additional tens of millions to our partner counties; and WHEREAS, on April 22, 2020, federal guidelines for expending the CARES Act funding were released, helping to lay out the rules for which the City’s programs may be reimbursable, and opening up the possibility for additional assistance opportunities for the City’s non-profit sector; and WHEREAS, on April 8, 2020, Mission Capital published a survey of a large number of local non-profit organizations in the Austin-area that identified a great need for flexible resources for non-profit organizations to be able to adapt and continue services to the community, as well as to sustain operations through the current emergency situation and remain solvent when the crisis is over; and WHEREAS, the City’s Economic Injury Bridge Loan Program has already received more requests for assistance than funding currently allocated; and WHEREAS, City staff has limited resources to administer assistance programs, however, there are many existing non-profit organizations with the experience and core competencies to provide assistance to others; and WHEREAS, the Governor’s order to allow businesses to reopen while schools remain closed could place additional burdens on childcare centers and families with working parents and other caregivers; and WHEREAS, during the great economic crisis of 2008, the City of Austin created transparent, publicly-available digital mechanisms to track economic recovery funding coming into and through the City; and WHEREAS, the Community Advancement Network (CAN), Capital Area Council of Governments (CAPCOG) and other local government networks have an interest in and ability to track data from the economic recovery activities; and WHEREAS, our community’s needs are immediate and pressing, and any further delay may cause additional harm; NOW, THEREFORE, 60 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF AUSTIN: The City Council of the City of Austin directs the City Manager to develop a rapid and equitable program for allocating an initial portion of the CARES funding in response to the COVID-19 crisis. This program may work with external non- profit organizations to administer support to help sustain small and local businesses and non-profit organizations facing hardship in Austin. This resolution establishes three funds: (1) Commercial Loans for Economic Assistance & Recovery (CLEAR) Fund; (2) Childcare Support Fund; and (3) Austin Nonprofit & Civic Health Organizations Relief (ANCHOR) Fund and directs the City Manager to begin establishing and implementing the program as soon as possible, and return to Council with a status report, including sources of funds and specific allocations, by May 21, 2020. 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED: Non-profit organizations applying to be administrators as part of this program (administrating organization) can provide any portion of assistance, including but not limited to:  CLEAR Fund - Commercial Loans for Economic Assistance & Recovery Economic injury loans, grants, and technical assistance for local and small businesses within the City of Austin that have been impacted by the Covid-19 Disaster: o The fund is to be segmented into the following areas:  $10 million for Revolving loan or grant program, as appropriate, which expands upon needs and eligibility criteria identified as part of the existing Economic Injury Bridge Loan Program, as adopted by City Council; and  $1 million in grant funds for businesses to cover expenses related to safe compliance with reopening orders; and o Recipient businesses must be assessed for viability by the administrating organization, as well as engage in technical assistance o Recipient businesses should provide commitments for employee o Administering organizations should include a particular focus on serving vulnerable businesses and those that have not received other support; retention; assistance; o Administering organizations should leverage external public and private dollars and include those leveraged funds in reporting; 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123  Childcare Support Fund: $1 million in grants for childcare centers in Austin for centers that: and o serve families that receive childcare subsidies; and o have at least a 2-star rating under the Texas Rising Star system and have not received Payroll Protection Plan money, through CARES; o have been impacted by COVID-19 related disruptions; and/or o have virus mitigation and protective equipment needs.  ANCHOR Fund - Austin Nonprofit & Civic Health Organizations Relief. Sustainability, operational, technical, or crisis support for non-profit organizations (recipient organizations) impacted by COVID-19 related disruptions: focus areas: o The Fund ($6 million in total) is to be segmented into the following  Health and Human Services ($2,000,000);  Workforce Development & Social / Legal Services ($1,250,000);  Education ($1,250,000);  Arts and Culture ($1,000,000); and  Environment and Animals ($500,000); o Recipient organizations must meet the following criteria:  Organizations classified as a “public charity” with tax-exempt status under Section 501(c)(3) and 509(a) of the Internal Revenue Service Code;  Non-profits with at least one 990 on file with the IRS;  Locally based with operations primarily within the City of Austin, Texas; 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 o Non-profit activities ineligible for the program include:  Endowments or memorials;  Nonprofit hospitals and higher education institutions;  Fraternal, sectarian and religious organizations where the funding is intended to principally benefit members/adherents and to fund inherently religious activities;  Private foundations;  Litigation/legal expenses in actions by or against the organization;  General capital campaigns, or  Support benefiting primarily for-profit members; o Administering organizations should assess recipient organizations for institutional viability and the potential impact of the grant/support on the sustainability of the recipient organization; o Recipient organizations should be required, at a minimum, to describe the impact receiving the funds/support would have on the organization’s viability to fulfill its mission; o Applicants should be invited to provide the following information, at a minimum:  Strengths and challenges associated with staff retention;  Programmatic priorities;  Populations and geographic regions served;  Other COVID-19 related assistance received, to date;  Potential impact receiving these funds/support would have on its ability to fulfill its mission in a sustainable way;  Size of its staff and annual operating budget;  Names and biographies for its board members; 151 152 o If an administering organization leverages external public and private dollars, it should include those leveraged funds in its reporting. 153 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED: 154 The City Manager is directed to ensure the program has a low barrier to 155 entry for businesses and non-profits receiving assistance via administering 156 organizations. Administering organizations should also be able to cover some of 157 their administrative costs from their respective funds. Administering organizations 158 are subject to audit by the City of Austin and should also be required to report, in 159 real-time, the spending and disbursement of these funds. City staff will develop a 160 measurement of return on investment, including but not limited to equity, quantity 161 of people or entities helped, and outside or private funds leveraged. Administering 162 organizations may submit proposals to staff that comprehensively meet the goals of 163 each of the funds, or they may submit proposals that meet a portion of the goals of 164 each fund. The design of the rapid program should build on existing knowledge, 165 expertise and work of City staff. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED: 166 167 168 The City Council directs the City Manager to provide the Council with 169 options for staff to administer support to help sustain small and local businesses 170 and non-profit entities in the event the proposals from potential administrating 171 organizations prove insufficient to meet the comprehensive goals of the rapid 172 program. Options provided to Council may include a collaborative approach with 173 external organizations administering portions of the technical assistance or other 174 supports to recipient organizations, with other portions of assistance being 175 administered internally by City staff. 176 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED: 177 The City Council directs the City Manager to partner with the Community 178 Advancement Network (CAN), the Capital Area Council of Governments 179 (CAPCOG), and other local governments receiving CARES Act funding to create 180 and implement a regional Economic Response Dashboard. This dashboard should 181 track response dollars allocated by federal, state, and local government as well as 182 private fundraising dollars from foundations, non-profits, businesses, or other 183 entities. The report should be updated close to real-time as data is available and 184 including but not limited to: 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197  Total dollars allocated to relief broken down by source, including links to the details of each source of funds,  Dollars distributed to non-profit organizations and private businesses at a detailed level, and  Aggregate demographic and geographic information on disbursements to individuals made directly or through non-profits organizations. ADOPTED: ____________, 2020 ATTEST: ________________________ Jannette S. Goodall City Clerk