DATE: November 18, 2020
TO: Community Service Commission
FROM: Community Services Manager
SUBJECT
Title
Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) COVID-19 Emergency-Related Funding: Review and Discuss Staff Recommendations for Allocating CARES Act Round 3 CDBG Funding
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RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
That the Community Services Commission review staff's recommendation for allocating $1,191,514 in CARES Act CDBG funding and $392,913 in uncommitted CDBG entitlement funding to services to prevent, prepare for, and respond to COVID-19.
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SUMMARY
The federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), passed in March 2020, allocates over two trillion in funds to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic at the federal, state, and local levels. In doing so, it makes available $5 billion in supplemental CDBG funding (i.e. CDBG-CV) for grants to prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus. Additionally, the CARES Act provides CDBG grantees with flexibilities that make it easier to use CDBG-CV grants as well as FY 2020 and FY 2021 CDBG funds for coronavirus response and authorizes the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to grant waivers and alternative requirements. Through the CARES Act, the City of Hayward has received two separate allocations of CDBG-CV funding:
* Round 1: $902,238 awarded in April 2020
* Round 3: $1,191,514 awarded in September 20201
Council allocated Round 1 funding based on guidance from the Community Services Commission (CSC) provided during the Fiscal Year 2020-2021 Community Agency Funding Process. Recognizing the impending challenges of COVID-19 in early March, the CSC recommended that staff prioritize the use of any additional CDBG funds to prevent homelessness and protect basic needs, like food security. On April 28, 2020, Hayward City Council approved the allocation of the Round 1 funds, along with the reallocation of existing uncommitted CDBG entit...
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