CITY of ALBUQUERQUE
TWENTY FOURTH COUNCIL
COUNCIL BILL NO. R-20-71 ENACTMENT NO. ______________________
SPONSORED BY: Lan Sena
RESOLUTION
title
Requesting The Adoption Of Federal Aid To Provide Local And State Governments Fair, Direct Federal Emergency Support To Prevent Disruption To Government Services And To Enable The Reopening And Rebuilding Of America’s Local Economies (Sena)
body
REQUESTING THE ADOPTION OF FEDERAL AID TO PROVIDE LOCAL AND STATE GOVERNMENTS FAIR, DIRECT FEDERAL EMERGENCY SUPPORT TO PREVENT DISRUPTION TO GOVERNMENT SERVICES AND TO ENABLE THE REOPENING AND REBUILDING OF AMERICA’S LOCAL ECONOMIES.
WHEREAS, America’s cities, towns and villages face unprecedented threats due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic emergency. Municipalities are essential to America’s economic recovery and without funding support for local governments, municipalities may go from being a critical part of the economic solution, to becoming a major obstacle to long-term stabilization and recovery; and
WHEREAS, America’s cities, towns and villages will experience budgetary shortfalls of up $134 billion in fiscal year 2020 alone, and the negative effects of the pandemic emergency on local communities will continue long after this year. As a result of these impacts, the National League of Cities considers there to be three million critical municipal worker jobs at risk, threatening cuts to basic community services; and
WHEREAS, without supplemental assistance to shore up budget shortfalls, local governments will be required to reduce services; adversely impacting public safety, public health, sanitation, and social services and economic development initiatives, which are all activities critical to reopening and repairing the national economy; and
WHEREAS, the City of Albuquerque anticipates a shortfall approaching $36 million in fiscal year 2020 and could potentially experience a $112 million shortfall in fiscal year 2021, and without supplemental assistance the City will have to severely curtail the delivery of municipal services which will impact the health, safety and welfare of the local community and extend the economic downturn in the region; and
WHEREAS, because of the loss of revenues, the City’s budget for 2020-2021 defers the start of new program initiatives that could help rebuild the economy and advance public health; and
WHEREAS, communities have taken extraordinary measures to protect health, safety, and the continuation of essential services throughout the emergency; and
WHEREAS, Albuquerque has acted quickly to set up a “safety net,” which included the delivery of more than 100,000 meals for seniors, offering child care to working families, providing medical care and testing for the homeless, investing in local businesses to keep them afloat, and fast-tracking construction and infrastructure projects. Establishing this safety net has added additional tens of millions of dollars in expenses to the City budget; and
WHEREAS, assisting local governments will improve the national economy. Local governments will ensure federal funds are used to rebuild and reopen the national economy; and that funding will keep the middle class workers employed and critical services operating.
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL, THE GOVERNING BODY OF THE CITY OF ALBUQUERQUE:
Section 1. The City of Albuquerque having been part of the emergency response to the COVID 19 Pandemic, calls on the 116th Congress of the United States of America to build a united national partnership for a safe, healthy, prosperous life and to allocate fair and direct federal support to all communities, regardless of population size; and
Section 2. That the funding provisions in the allocations must be flexible and address not only the additional expenses incurred by communities to respond to the pandemic emergency, but also the dramatic budgetary shortfalls resulting from pauses in commerce, tourism, other economic engines.
Section 3. That the funding allotments issues in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) for COVID 19 expenses are amended to allow for funding remaining after paying for COVID 19 expenses to be applied to cover budget shortfalls.
X:\CL\SHARE\CL-Staff\_Legislative Staff\Legislation\24 Council\R-71final.docx