DETAILS OF PLAN TO BE RELEASED FRIDAY
A measure will be introduced at a special Anchorage Assembly meeting scheduled for Friday, Dec. 4 to move already allocated CARES Act funds into different “buckets” that can be used to help residents of the city.
Acting Mayor Quinn-Davidson and members of the Anchorage Assembly announced on Thursday the measure to provide additional relief funding to businesses and residents, including housing assistance and grants to businesses, in light of the acting mayor’s devastating shut-down order that went into effect Tuesday, crushing local businesses, particularly restaurants and bars during their busy season.
The announcement by the Mayor’s Office made no mention of the $20 million in additional funds sent to the municipality by the governor, with a request from Gov. Mike Dunleavy that it be used to actually help people and businesses in need. Critics have said that the funds so far have not helped enough people in Anchorage, but have been used to prop up government jobs and build trails.
[Read: Governor provides additional CARES Act funds to Anchorage]
Assembly Resolution No. 2020-426, will be introduced and a public hearing and final vote will be set for next week.
The $15,407,650 relief package would provide additional funding to several “oversubscribed” municipal economic relief programs, as follows:
- $7,400,000 for the Rental and Mortgage Assistance Program. This will allow the program to continue beyond December and into 2021.
- $6,407,650 for grants to small businesses impacted by the shutdown order, including restaurants, bars, and entertainment businesses. This amount is in addition to the approximately $7,000,000 remaining in the small business program fund, which will be deployed in the coming days, according to the Mayor’s press release. After passage next week, funds left to deploy to small businesses would total $13,407,650.
- $1 million for the municipal voucher program that provides individuals and families with vouchers for basic necessities such as groceries, medication, diapers, and gas. This will add to the existing $1,000,000 program, which Mayor Quinn-Davidson expects to be depleted this month.
- $600,000 for the United Way and Alaska Hospitality and Retailers Association Meals Program, which pays local restaurants to provide meals to families that are struggling to make ends meet. This funding will allow the existing program to continue beyond 2021.
“We’ve spent the last week combing through each of the Muni programs to see what funds we could repurpose to get help to those who need it the most – and quickly,” said Acting Mayor Quinn-Davidson. “These funds are a good start, but not enough to carry our community through these next few months. We’re hopeful that Congress will act quickly to provide Alaskans the resources we need to weather this public health crisis.”
The funding for the additional economic relief redirects dollars previously appropriated by the Anchorage Assembly.
The Anchorage Assembly previously set aside $12 million to meet the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) local match requirement for disaster funds in case the State of Alaska did not pay the match. The State of Alaska has committed to pay this match, so these funds are no longer needed for that purpose. The bulk of the remaining funds come from funds that were appropriated for “mental health crisis response,” which she said will now be funded by the alcohol tax.
The Anchorage Assembly previously allocated over $88,000,000 for economic stimulus, the majority which has been spent on rent and mortgage relief and grants to businesses and nonprofits. The remaining relief dollars from that allocation will become available in the coming weeks, including $7 million more for small businesses, $7 million to tourism related businesses, $3 million for utility relief, and continued payments to child care providers.
