Vacaville council approves moving COVID funding to police initiative
Some money provided by the state to combat the effects of COVID-19 will go toward a housing initiative operated by the Vacaville Police Department.
(Google Street View/Courtesy image)
The Vacaville City Council on Tuesday approved a measure that would move $50,000 in COVID-19 relief money to an economic and housing support project operated by the city’s police department.
The money comes from a reserve of $1.2 million obtained by the City of Vacaville from the state’s Coronavirus Relief Fund (CRF), a $500 million collection that is funded in part from the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.
Earlier this year, state officials approved disbursing the $500 million fund to cities on an as-need basis to respond to economic and safety impacts from the novel coronavirus pandemic. Allocations to each city or community were based on population size.
Since obtaining the money, the City of Vacaville has spent around half of the fund on various projects, including $250,000 toward a small business grant program, $50,000 for homeless sheltering initiatives and $12,600 for hot meal programs distributed to senior citizens.
On Tuesday, the city council considered two other programs totaling nearly $100,000, including disbursing $50,000 toward an economic and housing support project operated by the Vacaville Police Department.
According to a pre-meeting report distributed in the council’s agenda, the funds for the police-operated project would “be used to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic by providing economic and housing support to families directed affected [by the health crisis]” through the agency’s Family Resource Center (FRC).
“The FRC can assist 50 families [or] individuals and approximately 98 children from being disclosed from their homes by assisting with rent, utility and food,” the agenda said. “Each family will be assisted with a maximum limit of $1,000 to pay rent or a combination of rent, utilities and food.”
Eligible families will have to jump through a few hoops in order to qualify for assistance: They must provide proof that they lease an apartment or home within the City of Vacaville as well as a signed letter from a landlord that accompanies proof of their ownership, copies of utility bills showing past due payments and letters from current or previous employers stating some kind of job loss or decrease in work hours due to the health pandemic.
On Tuesday, the council approved giving the police department the $50,000 for the initiative. City officials also approved writing a check for up to $49,000 to a consulting firm to help the city figure out how to better serve small businesses that are expected to continue to struggle due to the pandemic.
“The City has an existing economic development strategy, but not one that addresses how to deal with and recover from such a deep hit to the local economy,” the agenda said. The $49,000 would go toward the development of a so-called “bridge plan” that would bring together the economic advisor firm and community stakeholders to develop a long-term plan to help businesses stay afloat and bring jobs back to town.
“We know that Vacaville, along with many cities, their economies have been shattered since March,” Don Burris, the city’s director of economic services, said during Tuesday’s council meeting according to the Vacaville Reporter. “The hardest hit businesses and largest employee layoffs have occurred in the retail, restaurant and hospitality industries, which the city of Vacaville has a higher portion of businesses and employees than any other sector in the city.”
Though the council approved both requests, at least one council member had reservations about half of the allocated money going toward administrative costs instead of directly supporting those affected by the coronavirus pandemic.
“How much of that stuff should be going to the businesses in Vacaville that are failing, to residents that can’t pay their rent, things of that sort?” Council Member Nolan Sullivan questioned.
A city official later pointed out that half of Vacaville’s disbursement of the COVID-19 assistance fund has directly supported businesses and residents who have experienced hardships due to the health crisis.
Both requests are covered under strict terms outlined by state officials on how CRF money is to be spent, and the city is required to report back to the state on how the money is distributed.
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