City Commission Accepts $1,878,411 in CARES Act Funding

At today’s City Commission meeting, the Commissioners unanimously voted to adopt the amended FY 2019-2020 Annual Action Plan and FY 2015-2020 Consolidated Plan in order to accept $1,878,411 in CARES Act funding. The funding will be used for housing and community development initiatives in response to the impacts of COVID-19 in Tallahassee.

The COVID-19 CARES Act, which took effect in March 2020, “provided additional funding to local governments in the form of Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) funding to address the impact of COVID-19, as well as waivers of certain regulatory caps and requirements to allow for quick delivery of funds to eligible activities,” staff reports.

Currently, the CARES Act is providing additional funding to local governments in the form of Emergency Solutions Grants. The CARES Act is administered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and to be eligible for funding, the City must submit a five-year Consolidated Plan, an Annual Action Plan, and a consolidated Annual Performance Evaluation Report to HUD.

Staff reports that the CARES Act stimulus funds will reimburse a total of $1,878,411 of general fund revenues. This funding will be used to implement housing and community development initiatives to support priorities like homelessness prevention.

“Under the available waiver of some regulatory requirements, the City plans to use the CARES Act funds to expand on activities currently outlined in the 2015-2020 Consolidated Plan and 2019-2020 Annual Action Plan to mitigate the spread and impact of COVID-19 on the Tallahassee community,” staff reports.

According to the public hearing notice, $1,127,046.60, the majority of the funding, will go to rapid rehousing and homelessness prevention. The rest will go to shelter operations, essential services, outreach and housing navigation, and administration.