ADMINISTRATION - Cathy Sorensen, City Clerk
Title
ACCEPTING CARES ACT GRANT FUNDING
Background
The Office of the Secretary of State (OSS) received funding through the 2020 CARES Act “to prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus, domestically or internationally, for the 2020 Federal election cycle” and Minnesota law authorizes distribution of these funds to local governments for use consistent with the state and federal requirements. Anoka County was awarded their full county share of $272,782.08 and OSS will provide these funds as a block grant to the county in a fair, equitable, and mutually agreeable manner. Based on a default allocation mechanism provided by the OSS and the fact that most cities expect expenses to reach or exceed this default allocation, Anoka County will distribute the CARES Act funds to municipalities based on the default OSS allocations, which for Blaine will total $35,022.48. Note this a separate pool of funds from the larger CARES Act money that Blaine has already received and these funds can only be spent on elections-related costs.
The County will be signing the grant award agreement from the state and will distribute funds once received, which requires the City to include an overview of authorized uses and a 20% local match requirement. To date the City has spent funds on personal protective equipment such as sanitizer and tabletop plastic shields for polling places and secure ballot drop boxes at City Hall and the Mary Ann Young Center (MAYC) and will be considering temporary staffing in anticipation of increased interest in early voting.
Recommendation
Adopt resolution authorizing use of the CARES Act grant agreement municipal allocation for election-related costs for the 2020 election cycle.
Body
WHEREAS, the Office of the Secretary of State (OSS) received funding through the 2020 CARES Act “to prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus, domestically or internationally, for the 2020 Federal election cycle”; and
WHEREAS, Minnesota law authorizes distribution of these funds to local governments for use consistent with the state and federal requirements; and
WHEREAS, Anoka County will distribute CARES Act funds to Blaine totaling $35,022.48.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Blaine City Council hereby acknowledges that the sum of $35,022.48 will be provided by Anoka County to the City under the CARES Act grant to which Anoka County is the Grantee, and the City acknowledges that it is subject to the provisions of paragraphs 1 through 5, 7 through 11 and 13 through 15 of the 2020 CARES Act Grant Agreement as if it were the Grantee.
PASSED by the City Council of the City of Blaine this 9th day of September, 2020.