Item Coversheet

Board Action Request
20-0226

Item Description:
Allocate $1,687,000 CARES Act funds to hire up to 40 limited duration positions that will support critical Hennepin County COVID-19 response efforts and grant the County Administrator the ability to negotiate an agreement with Hennepin Healthcare for testing services, 06/10/20–12/30/20
Resolution:

BE IT RESOLVED, that the Hennepin County Board of Commissioners allocates $913,750 of its federal funding from the Coronavirus Relief Fund available under section 601(a) of the Social Security Act, as added by section 5001 of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) to hire 25 limited duration staff for critical Hennepin County COVID-19 response conducting mobile testing at various settings including long-term care facilities, neighborhoods and communities most disproportionately impacted, and other emergent locations; and

 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Hennepin County Board of Commissioners allocates $548,250 of its CARES Act funding to hire 15 limited duration staff for critical Hennepin County COVID-19 response to scale Hennepin County Public Health’s contact tracing and investigation efforts; and

 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Hennepin County Board of Commissioners allocates $25,000 of its CARES Act funding to supply the necessary personal protective equipment for these staff; and

 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Hennepin County Administrator be authorized to negotiate an agreement with Hennepin Healthcare to provide COVID-19 testing services to provide COVID-19 testing services in an amount not to exceed $200,000, that following review and approval by the County Attorney's Office, the Chair be authorized to sign the agreements and other necessary documents on behalf of the county; and that the Controller be authorized to disburse funds as directed; and

 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that any funding amounts not utilized will be returned to the CARES Act fund at Hennepin County for future distribution.

Background:

Section 601(a) of the Social Security Act, as added by section 5001 of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), established the Coronavirus Relief Fund (Fund) and appropriated $150 billion to the Fund. Under the CARES Act, the Fund is to be used to make payments for specified uses to States and certain local governments; the District of Columbia and U.S. Territories; and Tribal governments. Hennepin County received a direct payment out of the Fund from the U.S. Treasury.

 

The CARES Act provides that money from the Fund may only be used to cover costs that:

  1. are necessary expenditures incurred due to the public health emergency with respect to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID–19);
  2. were not accounted for in the budget most recently approved as of March 27, 2020 (the date of enactment of the CARES Act) for the State or government; and
  3. were incurred during the period that begins on March 1, 2020 and ends on December 30, 2020.

 

Allowable expenditures include costs of providing COVID-19 testing, including serological testing; expenses for technical assistance to entities on mitigation of COVID-19-related threats as an eligible expenditure; expenses for acquisition and distribution of medical and protective supplies, including sanitizing products and personal protective equipment; and payroll expenses for public safety, public health, health care, human services, and similar employees whose services are substantially dedicated to mitigating or responding to the COVID19 public health emergency.

 

Current Request: The recommendation is that $1.67 million in the Federal CARES funding be allocated to staff critical positions for the Hennepin County COVID-19 Response. Funding would be allocated to hire up to 40 limited duration positions that will be tasked with the following: 1) conducting mobile testing at various settings including long-term care facilities, neighborhoods and communities most disproportionately impacted, community centers, and large residential settings, etc.; and 2) expand the necessary staffing to scale Hennepin County Public Health’s contact tracing and investigation efforts during the period of June 10, 2020 to December 30, 2020. In Resolution 20-0173, the County Board made a special delegation of authority for the County Administrator to establish supplemental appropriations and transfer funds between departments relating to Hennepin County’s COVID-19 pandemic related funding awards; accordingly, no supplemental appropriation is specifically requested here.

 

Impact/Outcomes: Approval of this resolution will provide necessary support to critical COVID-19 response efforts.

Recommendation from County Administrator: Recommend Approval