REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL
June 11, 2020
FROM: WILMA QUAN, City Manager
Office of the Mayor & City Manager
SUBJECT
Title
***Resolution - Approve the 54th Amendment to Annual Appropriations Resolution No. 2019-133 to Appropriate $10,000,000 for the Purpose of Funding Additional COVID-19 Testing and Contact Tracer Services (Requires 5 affirmative votes) (Subject to Mayor's Veto)
Body
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that the Council approve the 54th Amendment to Annual Appropriations Resolution No. 2019-133.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The City of Fresno (City) has been awarded $92.8 million in Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act funding. CARES funds can be used for a variety of COVID-19 response costs, as well as for programs designed to mitigate the economic impact of COVID-19 mitigation efforts. After discussions with the County of Fresno (County), a need for additional COVID-19 testing and contact tracing has been identified. The Approval of the proposed amendment to the Annual Appropriations Resolution (AAR) will fund the purchase of additional resources to address these needs.
BACKGROUND
In response the COVID-19 pandemic and accompanying economic damage, the CARES Act was signed into law on March 27, 2020. One provision of the CARES Act provided $150 billion dollars for states, as well as for counties and cities with a population over 500,000. From this $150 billion allocation, the City received $92.8 million on April 22, 2020.
The allocation to states and local governments is administered by the United States Department of Treasury (Treasury). After the monies were distributed, Treasury issued a set of guidelines to govern the uses of these CARES funds. Among the items which were deemed eligible expenditures in the guidance are "costs of providing COVID-19 testing, including serological testing" and "expenses for technical assistance to local authorities or other entities on mitigation of COVID-19 related threats to pub...
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