REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL
August 20, 2020
FROM: BRYON HORN, Chief Information Officer
Information Services Department
BY: KIM JACKSON, Administrative Manager
Information Services Department
SUBJECT
Title
Actions pertaining to CARES Act Expense Reimbursements totaling $99,500:
1. ***RESOLUTION - Adopting the 3rd Amendment to the Annual Appropriation Resolution No. 2020-159 to Appropriate $60,300 in CARES Act Funds in the Information Services Department for Expense Reimbursement. (Requires 5 affirmative votes) (Subject to Mayor’s veto)
2. ***RESOLUTION - Adopting the 4th Amendment to the Annual Appropriation Resolution No. 2020-159 to Appropriate $15,300 in CARES Act Funds in the Information Services Department for Expense Reimbursement. (Requires 5 affirmative votes) (Subject to Mayor’s veto)
3. ***RESOLUTION - Adopting the 5th Amendment to the Annual Appropriation Resolution No. 2020-159 to Appropriate $23,900 in CARES Act Funds in the Information Services Department for Expense Reimbursement. (Requires 5 affirmative votes) (Subject to Mayor’s veto)
Body
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that City Council adopt the 3rd, 4th, and 5th Amendments (Amendments) to the Annual Appropriation Resolution No. 2020-159 to provide the necessary CARES Act funding in order to reimburse Information Services Department for expenses incurred while responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. The total amount of these reimbursements is $99,500.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
COVID-19 made it imperative that the City of Fresno (City) enable its employees to work remotely to stop the spread of the virus. The Information Services Department (ISD) plays a critical role in enabling and supporting these capabilities and has incurred unexpected expenses in doing so. These COVID-19 related expenses have been tracked and ISD has submitted them for reimbursement from CARES Act funding. The Amendments to the Annual Appropriation Resolution No. 2020-159 allow ISD to access these designated funds.
BACKGROUND
On March 18, 2020, Emergency Order 2020-02 and Emergency Order 2020-03 stated that the City would begin sheltering in place and that persons over 65 and the vulnerable population should stay at home, respectively. In order to keep City operations from being disrupted, ISD worked to ensure that a large percentage of the City’s employees would have remote working capabilities in a short period of time.
In order to successfully respond to the Emergency Orders, ISD has seen an increased expense in both personnel and non-personnel costs. Hardware and software have been, and continue to be, secured and deployed. Many of our employees have worked extra hours both in the transition to, and support of, remote work thus increasing our personnel expenses as well.
These Amendments to the Annual Appropriation Resolution No. 2020-159 seek to allow ISD to access the CARES Act funding reimbursement in the amount of $99,500 for continuation of the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. These expenses have been reviewed by Finance and have been certified by them to be CARES Act eligible.
ENVIRONMENTAL FINDINGS
By the definition provided in the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines Section 15378, this item is not a project for purposes of CEQA.
LOCAL PREFERENCE
Local preference was not considered because this item does not include a bid or award of a construction or service contract. ISD will be using the Federal CARES Act funding to reimburse these expenses.
FISCAL IMPACT
These COVID-19 related telework expenses are unbudgeted and ISD has been utilizing its limited operating funds to cover these costs. Council approved the Coronavirus Relief Fund Strategic Plan on June 30, 2020, which provided funding for expanding and improving the capability of City employee to telework. This item will utilize that funding for the approved purpose of supporting remote working capabilities.
Attachments:
Resolution Adopting the 3rd Amendment to the Annual Appropriation Resolution No. 2020-159
Resolution Adopting the 4th Amendment to the Annual Appropriation Resolution No. 2020-159
Resolution Adopting the 5th Amendment to the Annual Appropriation Resolution No. 2020-159