CARES Act Coronavirus Relief Fund

On March 13, 2020, the City declared a local emergency in response to the spread of COVID-19. Several actions were taken by the City to provide immediate economic relief to city businesses and residents, including the funding of small business loans of $1.1 million to City businesses, procurement of emergency supplies for the homeless, emergency meal programs, and lodging for essential City staff.

On April 21, 2020, the City received $89.6 million in Coronavirus Relief Funds (CRF) from passage of the federal government’s CARES Act. The deadline for expending CRF funds is December 30, 2020.

On May 12, 2020, Council participated in a workshop to discuss a CRF framework and on May 26, 2020 adopted a general framework proposed by the Mayor for funding priorities. Council has expressed an overall interest in funding programs and projects that provide:

Small Business Assistance: Financial, technical, and entrepreneurship assistance to small businesses, non-profits, and community-based organizations (CBOs).
Workforce Training: Fund programs and partner with workforce development providers, CBOs, and educational partners at all levels to retrain and uptrain workers dislocated due to the pandemic.
Youth Enrichment: Implement robust programs, curriculum, and service for youth, including providing the necessary transportation and technology to support these programs.
Family Services: Funding to support additional services for Sacramento families, including the expansion and availability of childcare services, food access, and programs that address domestic violence exacerbated by the stay-at-home orders.
Homeless Services & Rapid Re-Housing: Services to place unhoused individuals into permanent housing and implement homeless aversion programs.
Arts, The Creative Economy & Tourism: Financial and technical assistance directly to support the arts, tourism, and creative economy that have been devastated by the current pandemic.

Survey

To ensure the entire community has an opportunity to weigh in, the City Auditor conducted a community survey for both residents and businesses to provide insight and suggestions for CRF spending.

Resident and Business COVID-19 Impacts Surveys

Guidelines & Eligibility

Requirements of the Coronavirus Relief Fund (CRF):

Program Eligibility

Process

The City is working to prepare CARES Act funding recommendations and review funding suggestions for eligibility and alignment with identified Council priority areas. Additionally, Council expressed a commitment to equity and inclusion. Each program and project will be screened through an equity lens to ensure CARES spending benefits our entire community, particularly those communities most impacted. View the proposed framework for approving CARES Act programs and expenditures.

Total Spending

City Council Approval Timeline

The City Council approved programs for spending on the following dates:

Meeting Date	Spending Category	Status
June 16	Small Business Forgivable Loan Program	Approved
June 30	Small Business Assistance and Creative Economy	Approved
July 28	Workforce Training Programs	Approved
Aug. 18	Youth Enrichment and Homeless Services and Rapid Re-Housing	Approved
Aug. 25	Workforce Training Programs	Approved
Sept. 1	Creative Economy/Tourism and Small Business Assistance	Approved