Explanation
BACKGROUND: This legislation authorizes the Director of Development to enter into a Beneficiary Grant Agreement with Community Shelter Board (CSB) in an amount up to $7,398,138.00 of federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to provide operating support for CSB’s Emergency Shelter Program and to pay for expenses starting January 1, 2023.
Ordinance 1201-2021 authorized the City of Columbus to accept and appropriate approximately $187,030,138.00 of federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds as signed into law by the President of the United States on March 11, 2021.
CSB provides emergency shelters for men, women, and children. Once in shelter, in addition to providing a secure, clean place to stay, emergency shelter programs provide meals, rehousing services, physical and behavioral healthcare, material assistance, referrals, and employment services. Shelters operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Children staying at the family shelters are supervised in an age-appropriate environment where they participate in developmental activities, receive homework help, childcare, and health services. The shelters that will receive these funds include Lutheran Social Services-Faith Mission, Maryhaven Engagement Center, Southeast Inc.-Friends of the Homeless, YWCA Family Center, and the YMCA Van Buren Center.
CSB and partners leverage significant additional funding from multiple sources to operate emergency homeless shelters. Surge funding from the City of Columbus in 2021 and 2022 helped the shelter partners to fill budget gaps and attract/retain high quality staff. This funding will assist with funding shelter operations in 2023, including, but not limited to: salaries/wages,
CSB and the shelter system has been negatively impacted by COVID-19 by reduced funding from other sources, higher than pre-COVID levels of service needs, and higher than pre-COVID expenses for following the Centers for Disease Control guidance about social distancing.
A portion of the funding will be used for food expenses as the shelter system does provide meals. It is estimated that less than $20,000.00 will be used for meal costs.
It is expected that the guidance from the U.S. Department of Treasury will be modified while this agreement is in effect and it is requested that the Director of Development be given the authority to modify the terms and conditions of the agreement without seeking additional Council approval in order to align with the most current version of the laws, regulations, and guidance.
FISCAL IMPACT: Funding is provided to the City of Columbus from the American Rescue Plan Act passed by Congress and signed into law March 11, 2021.
CONTRACT COMPLIANCE: the vendor number is 004795 and expires 1/10/2024.
Title
To authorize the Director of Development to enter into a Beneficiary Grant Agreement with Community Shelter Board in an amount up to $7,398,138.00 of federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to provide operating support for CBS’s Emergency Shelter Program and to pay for expenses starting January 1, 2023; to authorize the Director of Development to modify the terms and conditions of the Beneficiary Grant Agreement as needed without seeking further City Council approval in order to align with the most current version of the laws, regulations, and guidance; to authorize the expenditure of up to $7,398,138.00 of ARPA funds. ($7,398,138.00)
Body
WHEREAS, CSB provides emergency shelters for men, women, and children and the shelters operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week; and
WHEREAS, surge funding from the City of Columbus in 2021 and 2022 helped the shelter partners to fill budget gaps and attract/retain high quality staff and this funding will assist with funding shelter operations in 2023; and
WHEREAS, the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in negative impacts on not-for-profit organizations by reducing traditional funding sources, increasing service needs, and increasing expenses; and
WHEREAS, expenditure of ARPA funding to support negatively impacted not-for-profits is necessary to alleviate the negative impacts caused by the COVID-19 public health emergency; and
WHEREAS, such expenditure of funds has not been previously accounted for in the 2022 Budget; and
WHEREAS, it has become necessary in the usual daily operation of the Department of Development to authorize the Director of Development to enter into a Beneficiary Grant Agreement with Community Shelter Board to provide operating support for CBS’s Emergency Shelter Program and to pay for expenses starting January 1, 2023;
NOW, THEREFORE,
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF COLUMBUS:
SECTION 1. That the Director of the Department of Development is authorized to enter into a Beneficiary Grant Agreement with Community Shelter Board (CSB) in an amount up to $7,398,138.00 of federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to provide operating support for CBS’s Emergency Shelter Program, to pay for expenses starting January 1, 2023, to pay for meals as part of the shelter program, and to modify the terms and conditions of the agreement without seeking additional Council approval in order to align with the most current version of the laws, regulations, and guidance.
SECTION 2. That for the purpose stated in Section 1, the expenditure of $7,398,138.00 or so much thereof as may be needed, is hereby authorized in Fund 2209 (ARPA), Dept-Div 44-01 (Administration Development), in object class 05 (Other) per the accounting codes in the attachment to this ordinance.
SECTION 3. That the funds necessary to carry out the purpose of this ordinance are hereby deemed appropriated and the City Auditor shall establish such accounting codes as necessary.
SECTION 4. That the City Auditor is authorized to make any accounting changes to revise the funding source for all contracts or contract modifications associated with this ordinance.
SECTION 5. That this ordinance shall take effect and be in force from and after the earliest period allowed by law.