Modesto looks to spend $7.5M from CARES Act to pay for cops and firefighters
Modesto expects to spend $7.5 million from the CARES Act — the roughly $2 trillion federal stimulus meant to help the unemployed, businesses, government and others cope with the new coronavirus pandemic — to help balance its 2019-20 budget, which ended June 30.
The City Council on Tuesday will consider approving spending $4.76 million for the Fire Department and $2.75 million for the Police Department, primarily for the salaries and benefits of police officers and firefighters because they are “essential public safety positions that have been substantially dedicated to mitigating or responding to the COVID-19 public health emergency,” according to a city report.
Budget manager Steve Christensen said this lets Modesto avoid using reserves to help balance the general fund from the 2019-20 budget. The roughly $140 million general fund makes up about a third of the city’s annual operating budget, and more than three quarters of the fund is spent on public safety.
The general fund has $18.4 million in reserves, and Christensen said spending CARES Act money lets Modesto maintain its reserves. He said that is critical given the uncertainty about how long the recession and pandemic will last.
Modesto has a 2019-20 general fund deficit because it saw sales tax and other revenues fall by about $9 million in the last few months of its 2019-20 budget because of the shuttering of businesses in the pandemic, according to the city.
Paying police officers’ and firefighters’ salaries and benefits is an authorized use of CARES Act funding, according to information on the U.S. Treasury’s website. But cities also can spend CARES Act funding on helping those who have lost their jobs because of the pandemic as well as helping renters, small businesses, the homeless and others harmed by the pandemic.
Modesto has received $5 million in CARES Act funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development earmarked for those purposes.
The $7.5 million is from part of the CARES Act funding Stanislaus County and California received from the federal government. The two are providing some of their funding to cities, with the county providing the $4.76 million and the state providing the $2.75 million.
The City Council meets at 5:30 p.m. The council continues to meet remotely. The public can participate via Zoom video conference. More information on how to watch the meeting and participate is available at www.modestogov.com/749/City-Council-Agendas-Minutes and then by clicking on the link for Tuesday’s agenda.
This story was originally published September 8, 2020 at 4:00 AM.
