CITY OF SEATTLE
ORDINANCE __________________
COUNCIL BILL __________________
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AN ORDINANCE related to the City’s response to the 2020 COVID-19 crisis; amending Ordinance 126000, which adopted the 2020 Budget; accepting funding from non-City sources; changing appropriations to various departments and budget control levels, and from various funds in the Budget; declaring an emergency; and establishing an immediate effective date; all by a 3/4 vote of the City Council.
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WHEREAS, the World Health Organization (WHO) has declared that COVID-19 disease is a global pandemic, which is particularly severe in high risk populations such as people with underlying medical conditions and the elderly, and the WHO has raised the health emergency to the highest level requiring dramatic interventions to disrupt the spread of this disease; and
WHEREAS, on February 29, 2020, Governor Jay Inslee declared a statewide state of emergency in response to outbreaks of the COVID-19 disease in Washington; and
WHEREAS, in response to outbreaks of the COVID-19 disease in Seattle, Mayor Jenny Durkan proclaimed a civil emergency exists in the City of Seattle in the Mayoral Proclamation of Civil Emergency dated March 3, 2020, modified by Resolution 31937; and
WHEREAS, on March 23, 2020, the Governor issued a “Stay Home, Stay Healthy” order, which, combined with other measures taken to prevent the transmission of COVID-19, effectively closed many businesses in the state of Washington; and
WHEREAS, on April 2, 2020, the Governor extended the “Stay Home, Stay Healthy” order through May 4, 2020; and
WHEREAS, on May 1, 2020, the Governor extended the “Stay Home, Stay Healthy” order through May 31, 2020; and
WHEREAS, many people in Seattle are struggling with the impacts of the COVID-19 disease and the measures taken to prevent its spread, including unemployment, housing insecurity, food insecurity; and
WHEREAS, local companies have recently reported laying off employees, experiencing substantial revenue losses, dealing with lost business due to fear and stigma, and seeing major declines in foot traffic as tens of thousands of employees are being asked to work from home; and
WHEREAS, these impacts are being felt across all industry sectors, including retail, restaurant, hospitality, transportation, logistics, arts, and culture; and
WHEREAS, the economic impact may have long-term, dynamic, and unpredictable local and regional consequences, necessitating the City to act and plan accordingly; and
WHEREAS, a number of City departments have implemented immediate assistance for affected local small businesses and displaced workers; and
WHEREAS, more than half of Seattle’s residents are renters, and even before COVID-19, a substantial share of renters paid more than 30 percent of their income to remain stably housed; and
WHEREAS, the global COVID-19 crisis shows that our collective health depends on people being stably housed; and
WHEREAS, many Seattle renters are facing job loss, struggling with childcare, and dealing with other unprecedented financial burdens stemming from the global COVID-19 crisis, leaving many unable to pay rent; and
WHEREAS, notwithstanding Governor Inslee’s eviction moratorium, renters need to pay their rent to ensure long-term housing stability; and
WHEREAS, the United Way of King County’s expanded Home Base program to provide rental assistance to King County households that have lost all or part of their income due to the coronavirus pandemic, originally funded at $5 million, including $1 million of City resources, was oversubscribed within days of its creation, further evidencing the impact of the immediate rental crisis; and
WHEREAS, on January 25, 2019, a point in time count enumerated more than 7,700 persons experiencing homelessness in Seattle; and
WHEREAS, among those persons experiencing homelessness, over 3,500 were unsheltered; and
WHEREAS, 70 percent of persons experiencing homelessness across King County find shelter and services in Seattle; and
WHEREAS, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has published its Interim Guidance on responding to COVID-19 among people experiencing homelessness that suggests a variety of responses and preventive measures to limit the spread of the virus among this extremely vulnerable population; and
WHEREAS, both the CDC and Seattle - King County Public Health recommend ensuring social distancing by maintaining at least 6 feet of distance between persons sleeping sheltered and unsheltered; and
WHEREAS, existing shelters that cannot meet the social distance minimum should be de-concentrated through redistribution of clients to alternate shelters, requiring The City of Seattle to invest in 450 new temporary shelter beds across the city; and
WHEREAS, there is insufficient shelter capacity to offer beds to every person sleeping outside and the City is aligned with the CDC recommendation against dispersion of encampments as that can contribute to the spread of the virus through social contact, thus requiring the City to increase access to hygiene facilities, toilets, handwashing, and showers by placing portable units across the City; and
WHEREAS, the most effective response to homelessness is a combination of poverty alleviation through safety net programs such as food banks, job training, and health care access; prevention of housing loss through employment assistance and education, rent support, and connection to appropriate supportive services; and immediate response to homelessness through ready access to shelter and health services, especially behavioral health care, and rapid connection to housing with short- or long-term financial support; NOW, THEREFORE,
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY OF SEATTLE AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. The City Council finds and declares that:
A. On February 29, 2020, Governor Inslee proclaimed a State of Emergency for all counties throughout the State of Washington as a result of the confirmed person-to-person spread of COVID-19 in Washington State.
B. The COVID-19 disease, caused by a virus that spreads easily from person to person and which may cause serious injury and death, has spread throughout King County and the City of Seattle.
C. On March 3, 2020, Mayor Durkan issued a Proclamation of Civil Emergency declaring a civil emergency within the City of Seattle based on the confirmed spread of COVID-19 in King County and resulting deaths.
D. In addition to the paramount public health concerns, the spread of COVID-19 and the necessary measures taken to reduce that spread are causing and will continue to cause severe economic dislocation in the State of Washington, King County, and the City of Seattle. As of April 25, 2020, more than a half million Washingtonians have filed for jobless benefits since the start of the COVID-19 emergency. In addition, governments at all levels, including The City of Seattle, face major reductions in tax revenues even as they face major new emergency expenditures to combat the pandemic.
E. The State of Washington has taken a number of steps to mitigate the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on people, organizations, and businesses of Washington, including passing a COVID-19 relief bill in March 2020, which added state appropriations to programs used by The City of Seattle to assist people facing homelessness.
F. The quick acceptance and appropriation of these newly available funds is crucial to mitigating the impacts of COVID-19 on The City of Seattle and the people and organizations it serves.
Section 2. The Mayor or the Mayor’s designee, the Human Services Director, and the General Manager/CEO of Seattle Public Utilities are authorized to accept the following non-City funding from the grantors listed below; and to execute, deliver, and perform, on behalf of The City of Seattle, agreements for the purposes described below. The funds, when received, shall be deposited in the receiving funds identified below to support the appropriations in Section 3 of this ordinance.
|
Item |
Department |
Grantor |
Purpose |
Fund |
Amount |
|
2.1 |
Human Services Department |
Washington state Department of Commerce Grant |
Provide funding for homeless services necessary to respond to the COVID-19 outbreak |
Human Services Fund (16200) |
$12,250,000 |
|
2.2 |
Seattle Public Utilities |
Washington state Department of Commerce Grant |
Provide funding for hygiene services necessary to respond to the COVID-19 outbreak |
General Fund (00100) |
$750,000 |
|
2.3 |
Human Services Department |
Federal Older American’s Act grant |
Provide meals for seniors |
Human Services Fund (16200) |
$498,120 |
|
Total |
$13,498,120 |
Section 3. Contingent upon the execution of the grant or other funding agreement authorized in Section 2, the appropriations for the following items in the 2020 Budget are increased from the funds shown, as follows:
|
Item |
Department |
Fund |
Budget Summary Level/ BCL Code |
Amount |
|
3.1 |
Human Services Department |
Human Services Fund (16200) |
Addressing Homelessness (BO-HS-H3000) |
$3,300,000 |
|
3.2 |
Human Services Department |
Human Services Fund (16200) |
Addressing Homelessness (BO-HS-H3000) |
$4,850,000 |
|
3.3 |
Human Services Department |
Human Services Fund (16200) |
Supporting Affordability and Livability (BO-HS-H1000) |
$2,500,000 |
|
3.4 |
Human Services Department |
Human Services Fund (16200) |
Addressing Homelessness (BO-HS-H3000) |
$1,600,000 |
|
3.5 |
Seattle Public Utilities |
General Fund (00100) |
Utility Service and Operations (BO-SU-N200B) |
$750,000 |
|
3.6 |
Human Services Department |
Human Services Fund (16200) |
Supporting Affordability & Livability (BO-HS-1000) |
$498,120 |
|
Total |
$13,498,120 |
Unspent funds so appropriated shall carry forward to subsequent fiscal years until they are exhausted or abandoned by ordinance.
Section 4. Based on the findings of fact set forth in Section 1 of this ordinance, the Council finds and declares that this ordinance is a public emergency ordinance, which shall take effect immediately and is necessary for the protection of the public health, safety, and welfare.
Section 5. By reason of the findings set out in this ordinance, and the emergency that is declared to exist, this ordinance shall become effective immediately upon a passage by a 3/4 vote of the Council, and its approval by the Mayor, as provided in Article IV, subsection 1.I of the Charter of the City.
Passed by a 3/4 vote of all the members of all the members of the City Council the ________ day of _________________________, 2020, and signed by me in open session in authentication of its passage this _____ day of _________________________, 2020.
____________________________________
President ____________ of the City Council
Approved by me this ________ day of _________________________, 2020.
____________________________________
Jenny A. Durkan, Mayor
Filed by me this ________ day of _________________________, 2020.
____________________________________
Monica Martinez Simmons, City Clerk
(Seal)