City Of Sammamish: City Of Sammamish Uses CARES Funds To Aid Community During Ongoing Global Pandemic

Press release from the City of Sammamish:

October 01, 2021

The federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) created the Coronavirus Relief Fund which provided $150 billion in direct assistance to states, territories, and tribal areas.  Washington State distributed over $400M to municipalities, of which the City of Sammamish was awarded $2.9M.

Following is an outline of how CARES Act funds have helped our community during the COVID-19 global pandemic.

October 6, 2020

Sammamish City Council approved plan to use the City’s CARES Act allocation to reimburse Eastside Fire & Rescue (EF&R) for COVID staffing expenses.

Based on guidance from the Washington State Department of Commerce and the Department of Treasury, payroll expenses for public safety employees such as EF&R firefighters and emergency medical services personnel were considered an eligible use of CARES Act funds because these personnel were “substantially dedicated to COVID-19 response” and the function of those personnel were considered to be a “substantially different use” than from the budgeted EF&R expense.

Commerce was unequivocal in affirming that budgeted EF&R payroll expenses were an eligible use of CARES funds as they met the criteria established by the Department of Treasury. This strategy enabled the City to continue providing financial support from its general fund to the community beyond the CARES Act’s deadline, which was November 30, 2020, at the time of this action.

Click here to read agenda bill regarding this action.

December 15, 2020

City Manager Dave Rudat reports the City of Sammamish has now received the reimbursement of the entire $2,898.450 in CARES Act funds from the Washington Department of Commerce. 

“By allocating the CARES Act funds towards Eastside Fire & Rescue’s (EF&R)’s COVID-19 expenses, we were able to use that budget savings to provide continued COVID-19 support to the community without the date restrictions associated with federal funds,” said Rudat. “Many cities are scrambling to spend their CARES Act allocation by the December 31 deadline. Thanks to the unanimous vote by City Council approving staff's recommendation on CARES Act funds allocation, we are in a position to use these funds to address the second wave of COVID-19’s impact on our community.  This approach allows the City to continue supporting Sammamish based small businesses, non-profits, and government operations into 2021.”

Click here to read agenda bill regarding this action.

December 21, 2020

Two rounds of grants for small businesses totaling $1,224,000 are complete and awarded.

City Council approved the first round of grants on September 1, 2020 and awarded $420,000 to small businesses in Sammamish. The second round of grants was approved on December 15, 2020 and awarded $804,000 to small businesses and non-profits in Sammamish.

Click here for more details regarding this action.

In addition, City Council approved nonprofit grant funding totaling nearly $525,000 during four meetings between May 2020 and February 2021.

May 5, 2020 - Click here to read agenda bill regarding this action

July 14, 2020 - Click here to read agenda bill regarding this action

September 15, 2020 - Click here to read agenda bill regarding this action

February 2, 2021 -  Click here to read agenda bill regarding this action

March 16, 2021

City Staff provided an update to City Council on CARES and ARPA, including CARES expenses to date.

As of this date, CARES funds had gone to support crucial needs for community and City operations:

• Small Business Grants
• Human Services Grants
• Internal COVID-19 Expenses (PPE, Workplace Mitigations, Contracted Services., etc.)
• Continuity of Government Expenses (IT Support – laptops, remote work supplies, etc.)

Click here to read agenda bill regarding this action.

July 6, 2021

Remaining CARES Act budget reserved for Snoqualmie Tribe Vaccine Partnership expenses and unbudgeted EF&R staffing and supply expenses until reimbursement determination by FEMA.

City Council took action to reserve most of the remaining CARES Act budget for vaccine site expenses and unbudgeted EF&R expenses until the City receives confirmation that FEMA will reimburse these costs. If FEMA does cover these costs, the funds will be available again for City Council to distribute for further COVID-19 support.

Click here to read the agenda bill regarding this action.

The Snoqualmie Tribe Vaccine Partnership was awarded the 11th Annual Executive’s Award for Community Resilience by King County. This was a great partnership between the City of Sammamish, City of Issaquah, Eastside Fire & Rescue, and Snoqualmie Tribe that lead to our community leading the region in vaccination rates. Read about this great honor for our community here: www.sammamish.us/news-events/current-news?id=58098

September 15, 2021 City Staff provided a snapshot view of COVID-19 expenditures to date, as well as pending expenditures.

Ongoing Updates

The City will continue to provide regular updates at City Council meetings regarding how CARES funds have been used to help our community during the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 global pandemic. For City Council meeting details and to view past meetings, visit www.sammamish.us/government/city-council/.  

This press release was produced by the City of Sammamish. The views expressed here are the author’s own.