AN ORDINANCE related to the City’s response to the 2020 COVID-19 crisis; amending Ordinance 126000, which adopted the 2020 Budget; accepting funding from non-City sources; changing appropriations to various departments and budget control levels, and from various funds in the Budget; declaring an emergency; and establishing an immediate effective date, all by a 3/4 vote of the City Council.
Agenda Item two Capital 119 783 relating to the city's response to the 2020 COVID 19 crisis and many audience 126000, which adopted the 2020 budget, accepting funding from non city sources, changing appropriations to various departments and budget control levels and various funds in the budget, declaring an emergency and establishing an immediate effective date all by three fourths vote of the City Council. Thank you so much, though. I will move to PESCA. So, Bill, 119783. Is there a second? Again. It's been moved and seconded to pass Council Bill 119783 Councilmember Mosquito. You are listed as the sponsor of the bill, so I'm going to yield the floor to you to make some introductory remarks. Thank you, Madam President. As I mentioned this morning, I've had the chance to work on a substitute bill that includes a handful of amendments in an effort to have a conversation about that bill. May I please move to amend the Council bill so that we can have that discussion on the substitute? Okay so you want to move to amend council bill 119783 by substituting version seven for version two? Yes, if that's appropriate. At this time, I'd like to move amendment and move to amend council bill 119783 by substituting version seven for version two. Is there a second? It's been moved and seconded to amend the bill by substituting it for version seven. Council members get it. I will hand it back over to you to speak to the substitute. Thank you very much, Madam President. Council colleagues, as we talked about this morning, this is an ordinance in its amended version that would accept appropriate appropriated federal and state funds related to COVID 19 pandemic crisis and response, including Partial Cares Act funding. This is the city's first opportunity to apply federal appropriations and allocations to our city to respond to the COVID crisis. We appreciate the work that the City Budget Office, Office of Housing and the Mayor's Office has provided to us. They presented last week a full PowerPoint presentation about the plans to distribute these funds. Following the presentation, I submitted a handful of follow up questions regarding the executive's plan for shelter, the intensification and emergency homeless COVID response. We have subsequently, at the end of last week, heard a number of providers who are providing direct services to those who are the most vulnerable in our community, who are in need of housing, food services, cleaning, PPE, staff paid for the folks who are working in homeless shelters. One of the great pieces that we know is that this is not going to be the last opportunity for federal funds. Other forthcoming dollars include FEMA dollars, where there's going to be reimbursements, 130 million in federal coronavirus relief funds, 13 million from the Department of Commerce, Emergency Homeless and Housing Needs and Future Cares Act allocations. We are looking forward to having a robust conversation in the near term about how all of these sources will be used for a comprehensive, holistic strategy that meets the needs of homeless services providers, rental assistance, small businesses and more as we respond to the COVID crisis. We know, though, that we need to act quickly with these dollars that are in hand. So I really appreciate our ongoing conversation with the City Budget Office to make sure that we can get these dollars out the door here, as you see. And substitute version seven. What substitute version seven includes is ongoing funding to make sure that we are getting money out the door for small business stabilization, funding out the door for the Building Stability Fund, which is rental assistance. We've actually increased some of the money that's going to that fund to about 1.4 million. We've also split 1.4 million among homelessness prevention and rental assistance efforts. And at this point, we've added clarification in the amended bill in front of you. We have clarified that we'd like there to also be food support for unsheltered persons as they approach as an appropriate use of emergency services grant dollars. We've also added our desire to see if we can include meal delivery to permanent supportive housing as an appropriate use under the Americans Act funds to expand food programs. And we understand that there's ongoing conversations about how these funds may be used for home delivery. And we believe that ensuring meal delivery to those in permanent supportive housing is also an appropriate and qualified. Look forward to making sure folks can get access to meals in their homes. Again, looking forward to having a future conversation about the $1.4 million that we're holding back in CDBG allocations in this round of CARES Act funding to to allow for time for a conversation with the executive's office and homeless service providers, pending that future conversation about what can be funded with existing funds from HST or Office of Housing . We will have more information for this Council to consider. I mentioned a handful of the issues that are needed among our homeless services providers, including the densification issues, planning and staff support PPE and more. So that is a conversation that we greatly appreciate has already begun initiated this morning. We do want to act quickly, though. So, colleagues, my commitment to you is that we come back to you with an update on how those conversations are going and look forward to releasing the 1.4 million, hopefully for additional appropriations to rental assistance, as we heard about today, and look forward to getting feedback from those housing and services providers. I'm feeling really confident about the ongoing conversations that we've had about supporting residential and business tenants. I really appreciate the conversation that you all have participated in as we advanced and protected tenants, both as small business tenants and as residential tenants. And we're hoping that the conversation over the next week will truly add to a robust and comprehensive approach to protecting those who have been experiencing the consequences of COVID. I'll also note that this is an effort to try to make sure that we're responding not just to the economic needs as we talk about building stability fund, small business stabilization funds, rental assistance and homelessness prevention. We've tried to walk that fine tightrope to. Make sure that we're on. We're continuing our ongoing effort to respond to the health crisis that is COVID. So that is that is sort of the impetus of the strategy that you see in front of that bill that we have as amended . My office so spoken as well with the folks that United Way Rental Assistance Program about the approach that we are proposing and substitute version seven. And appreciate their support. They have let us know that they are holding a portion of the c b. They have let us know that holding a portion of the CDBG Rental Assistance Fund temporarily will not cause negative impacts on folks being able to access rental assistance. And they are concerned about the upcoming June 4th date when the state eviction moratorium expires. And we've committed to working with them, along with the entire council, to make sure that funds are released will prior to that date. I will leave it at that council colleagues and I'll turn it back over to you. Council President Gonzales, appreciate it. Thank you so much, Governor Mosquito. So we are currently considering the proposed substitute and I think as we're risking to address the substitute and the substantive bill. So are there any questions on the on the proposed substitute as as introduced by Councilmember Mosqueda? Okay. So let's go ahead and take a vote on the adoption of the substitutes or the clerk. Please call the roll on the adoption of the substitute bill. So what. I. Gosh. I. Herbold. I. Whereas. I. Lewis. I. Morales, I let's get out. I. Peterson. I. President Gonzalez. I. 89 in favor of unopposed. The motion carries the substitute is adopted in version seven of the bill is now before the City Council councilmembers get. Are there any other further comments on the bill as amended? I will just say that again, this is the first opportunity for us to accept federal funds. I hope that the set the tone for the type of assistance that we'd like to see applied across our city, both in terms of rental assistance for us families and individuals, workers for small businesses, and as you will hopefully see within the next few days here, spurring additional conversations and investments in those who are the most vulnerable and currently living in congregate shelters. I think this morning we've had a conversation about our desire to see the executive and the departments move in their strategies to identifying the shelters that we have and really diving into the recommendations that have come over in the last few days from the housing service providers and homeless shelter providers to make sure that we are responding to the ongoing public health need in those settings. We know that it's critical to not only participate in social distancing, but we cannot keep distances when folks are living in congregate shelters. So very interested in following up with all of you. And I know Councilmember Herbold expressed interest this morning working with our council colleagues to make sure that we see movement on this effort in the next few days here. And we'll be coming back to this council very soon about the release of the 1.4 million. Thank you. Councilman Mosqueda, are there any other are there any further comments on the bill as amended? Because I remember her. Thank you. I first just want to thank Councilmember Musgrave for the language clarifying in in the substitute clarifying that seniors living in permanent supportive housing will be eligible to receive meal delivery funded by the federal Older Americans Act. Our friends at the Housing Development. Consortium had. Made a request last week to find ways to support meal provision for people living in permanent supportive housing. So I really appreciate that the substitute includes that language. As mentioned this morning, I do have some reservations around reducing the amount of funds available for rental assistance current under. Normal budget times, we we fund rent assistance programs to the tune of almost $4 million. We added additional million dollars a couple weeks ago. We were poised with this legislation to add another 1.5 million. We are reducing that to $750,000. But really appreciate understanding from Councilmember Mesquita that this is a temporary pause. I want to just provide a little bit more detail about the conversations that my office have had with the home based program. With the United Way. More than 7000 households applied for April rent. Over a 48 hour period of time. The estimates are that they will be able, with the current funding, be able to assist about 2000 of those 7000 households. So the need for rental assistance is great and we understand that they they will be doing another another opportunity for people to apply for rental assistance on May 18. And so I think a short delay on providing that full funding for rental assistance is is acceptable. And as Councilmember Muscat mentioned earlier, the United Way and the home based program there is is is supportive of us doing so. So I'm comfortable with holding back some of the federal funds from this appropriation for a limited period of time. And I also want to say that I really, really support the goal of holding these funds back for a short period of time. If that goal is indeed to facilitate a conversation with the executive about how to ensure that people who are living in clean air and unsafe, unhealthy conditions that are able to move into places where they can stay safe. And we know that rates of COVID 19 among people living in congregate shelters in the past several weeks is is increasing greatly. Cases among people experiencing homelessness are accelerating, while new cases in the county as a whole have stabilized. 2 to 3 weeks ago, people experiencing homelessness only comprised 1% of total cases, whereas today they are 4% of total cases. So again, I appreciate the opportunity to hit pause on the full allocation of these funds so that we can we can really deal comprehensively with. The challenges before us. I think remember her both for those remarks because remember. Strauss, I'm hearing a little bit of ambient noise from your phone if you don't mind meeting. That would be helpful. Thank you. My sincerest apologies. Oh, no, that's okay. We're all learning this together, so no worries. Okay. So are there any other comments on the bill as amended? Council members want. Thank you, President Gonzalez. I will be, of course, supporting this bill, and I support the attempt to figure out if funds can be allocated for the densification of shelters in light of the contagious virus. But I think all this discussion also clearly illustrates. The no win situation created by local, state and federal finances when big businesses don't pay their fair share. I think this unless governments at all levels have the political courage to create public revenues through progressive sources, we will end up as this recession gets deeper and gets worse and gets more widespread. We will end up being forced to use not only robbing Peter to pay Paul approach, but really ultimately an austerity budgeting approach. We, of course, desperately need funding for the home based rental assistance program, and we also need funding to allow for social distancing within the homeless shelter system, and both need to be passed. And the only solution is really to expand the public revenue base, especially in a city like Seattle, which is the nation's most regressive tax system. And hence, we are going to see budget revenues be deeply impacted as joblessness of working people keeps going up because working people are shouldering the burden. So it's not only a question of injustice. It's a question of mathematics as well. Oh, I think it was very important that Edmund Widow from the Housing Justice Project showed a reveal to us. And during public comment that they had received, they have received 7000 applications for the home based fund over a 48 hour period. And the program can only help thousands of the applicants. And you know, my conclusion from those slightly different from what some other council members have drawn, I think what this shows is that with joblessness dramatically going up and the number of applicants, people who will need these funds will rapidly rise. That in combination with sky high rents and the amount of money that will be needed, just, you know, just in terms of dollars, the sheer number of dollars that will be needed to cover the rents that people won't be able to pay rental assistance by itself is not a viable solution. It is not certainly not a viable proposal by itself. In the absence of access on big business and the wealthy at local, state and federal levels to generate the revenues to be used for the scale of rental assistance needed. But I think equally importantly and actually more importantly, rental assistance at this moment of the recession, you know, because in gestation somebody is going to pay the price. The only question is who will pay the price. So rental assistance at this moment on on on a large scale, on the basis of public funds, would effectively mean a bail out for corporate landlords and property management corporations, which are one of the most rapacious actions of the capitalist class, given how renters are, tenants are exploited. And so in addition, for all the rental assistance, which of course I completely support, we need to we need to have a fight for full suspension without consequences of rent payments and mortgage payments for renters and homeowners and for small landlords and the bank, big banks, corporate landlords and Wall Street should pay for this crisis, not ordinary people. And I'll just share once again that over 9000 Washingtonians have signed our community petition for such a suspension without consequence, a rent, mortgage and utility payments. And we are seeing similar. Editions and campaigns, hundreds of them all over the nation from different organizations. Thank you, Councilmember Swann. Are there any other comments on the bill as amended? Okay. I don't see any one else raising their hands or sending me messages for those who are on the phone. So I will go ahead and close out debate and ask the clerk to please call the role on the passage of the bill as amended. So why don't I? I. Herbal. Bull's I. Suarez Lewis. I. Morale is. High. Mosquito I. Peterson. I. President Gonzales, I am not in favor and then opposed. The bill passes as amended and the chair will sign it. And I'd ask that the clerk please affix my signature to the legislation on my behalf. Will the clerk please read item three into the record?