Staff will providing an update related to the CARES Act and the City of Billings. No Council decision is needed at this time. Any future use of these funds will be authorized by City Council in future budgets or budget amendments.

On March 27th, 2020 President Trump signed into law the CARES Act. This provided substantial funding for local governments and businesses impacted by COVID-19. The CARES Act allocated a variety of funding to be administered through multiple Federal agencies. The City of Billings is eligible to receive of over $33 million in calendar year 2020. A discussion of the variety of funding is provided below and will be presented to City Council as an update.
 
Department of Treasury – State Stabilization Fund
Part of the Act allocated $1.25 billion to the State of Montana. Governor Bullock along with his advisory council allocated funding to local governments throughout the State of Montana. The funding is to reimburse local governments for eligible costs incurred while responding to COVID-19. Eligible costs have been defined by the Department of Treasury as medical expenses, public health expenses, all regular and overtime pay including benefits for first responders, and public health personnel, other employee costs who are substantially dedicated to mitigating or responding to COVID-19 public health, and expenses to facilitate compliance with COVID-19 related to public health measures.

The City of Billings requested reimbursement for equipment purchases, additional cleaning supplies, modifications to public places, equipment for video conferencing and remote communication, and eligible staffing costs. The total amount requested through 9/25/2020 is $13.7 million. Most of this funding (99%) has been deposited into our Public Safety fund as a result of reimbursement for eligible Police and Fire salaries. Other departments receiving CARES Act funding include Facilities, Library, Parks, Planning, Public Works, and Information Technology.
 
Federal Transit Administration
The CARES Act included $25 billion for the expressed goal of keeping transit systems running. The City of Billings MET Transit has been awarded $5.4 million to be used for capital, operating, and other expenses generally eligible under those programs to prevent, prepare for, and respond to COVID-19. MET will use the funds to replace aged fleet ($2.25M) and the balance will be used to offset operating costs over the next 3 to 4 years.
 
Federal Aviation Administration
The CARES Act included $9.9 billion for commercial airports throughout the country. The City of Billings Logan International Airport is eligible for grant funds of $13.5 million to be used for operating costs at the Airport. The Airport will use a significant portion of this revenue to offset revenue shortfalls related to the decline in air travel. It is estimated that this may be needed over the next three years. Approximately $821,000 will be used to assist with construction costs.
 
Department of Justice
The CARES allocated $850 million for the Coronavirus Emergency Supplemental Funding (CESF) grant program to prevent, prepare for, and respond to the coronavirus. This funding has been allocated using a predetermined funding calculation. The City of Billings has been awarded $230,612. This funding is being used to purchase PPE for our first responders and employees who interact with the public, pay for eligible overtime, and to acquire tools, signs, and equipment for public interaction.

Housing and Economic Development
HUD allocated $3 billion through its Community Development Block Grant Coronavirus (CDBG-CV) program to local governments around the country as a part of the CARES Act. The City of Billings has been allocated $909,126 through the act. Activities funded must be allocated: exclusively for coronavirus response; primarily benefit low-income individuals and families; and may not duplicate local, state, or federal service or support. A survey has been designed to gather data to help determine priorities prior to allocating funding for a coordinated coronavirus response within the Billings community. Survey links, results and information on CDBG-CV funding can be found online at www.BillingsMT.gov/CDBGcv. 
 

No decision is required, and no alternatives have been analyzed.

The City of Billings has been awarded over $33 million in calendar year 2020 directly related to the CARES Act passed by Congress and signed into law on March 27, 2020. The CARES Act provided over $2 trillion in economic relief to protect the American people from the public health and economic impacts of COVID-19.