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Issue Paper No 2_Covid City of Tigard a Response to COVID-19 Coronavirus, also known as COVID-19, is an illness caused by a virus that can spread from person to person. This global pandemic has affected over 200 countries and territories around the world.According to the Center for Disease Control(CDC), almost 55 million people have been infected and over 1.3M have succumbed to the disease world-wide(As of November 16, 2020).As of November 12, 2020, Oregon Health Authority(OHA)reports that during the week of November 2 through November 8, there were 5,177 new cases of COVID-19 infection—up 46%from last week's tally of 3,542. This is the third consecutive week daily case counts set a record high for the pandemic. COVID-19 poses a serious public health risk. It is a rapidly evolving, The City of Tigard is still operating and providing the resources and the virus knows no boundaries. Everyone is susceptible.Those community needs.The work may look and feel different,but the who are considered high risk for severe illness are: dedication of our workforce is the same.We are here to serve and • People 65 years and older are doing just that.We are also working closely with a variety of • People who live in a nursing home or long-term care facility stakeholder and constituencies to address their needs and wants. • People of all ages with serious underlying medical conditions Financial Assistance and Support Everyone can do their part to help us respond to this emerging • Business Support:Recognizing the severe impact on most public health threat by following CDC recommendations: local businesses,we launched the Tigard Commercial Assistance and Relief for Economic Stability(CARES)program,which • Wear a cloth face covering in public settings to avoid spreading provides business financial assistance totaling up to$1,000,000 COVID-19. (leveraging$300,000 in city funds)to help firms overcome the • The cloth face covering is not a substitute for physical temporary loss of revenue from the COVID-19 crisis. distancing, nor is it a political statement. Housing Support:Existing housing struggles worsened due to • CDC continues to recommend that people try keep at least 6 the pandemic. In addition to approving a resolution placing a feet between themselves and others. moratorium on evictions(Resolution No. 20-19),we launched Resident Aid Fund of Tigard (RAFT),a program aimed to The City of Tigard has been quick to respond to this crisis. provide flexible support for the community during this public Council ratified the city's emergency declaration on March 17, health crisis.$100,000 in city funds will provide grants that 2020, giving the city certain authorities related to personnel focus on services for unhoused residents and service for those policies, resource sharing,and code compliance.We have also at risk of losing their housing.A second round of funding is taken a proactive approach with communication and are urging going live in early 2021. our staff and community to practice physical distancing and other Utility Support: Tigard City Council approved$2.2 million in prevention measures. In March,we closed most of our facilities customer assistance as part of the Tigard AID program.This to the public. Since then,we have been reimaging our operations newly-launched program provides relief from city fees and and launching services in a creative way,adhering to state rules charges during this pandemic. Knowing this is an incredibly and regulations. The city has strongly encouraged its employees stressful time,with many unknowns,the city took steps to to work remotely to the greatest extent possible and we are ensure customers have uninterrupted access to utility services. encouraging remote work through at least March 2021. Utility shut-offs are suspended,and the city will not charge late fees for missed payments, continuing until April 1, 2021. On Friday,November 13,in response to a surge of new infections, Gov. Kate Brown announced a two-week`freeze'across Oregon, limiting or closing businesses and activities statewide.The freeze takes effect on Wednesday, Nov.18 through Wednesday, Dec.2, though some counties will remain subject to the limitations longer. We know the freeze will last at least four weeks in Multnomah County and we expect the same for Washington County. Response to COVID-19 City of Tigard Fiscal Impacts: Other Relevant Information: In mid-March,the city started to feel the impacts of the COVID-19 • Human Resources has been continuously working on updating pandemic. We are tracking costs in coordination with the county, our policies that address safety protocols,flex time,and remote state and federal response to seek reimbursement from FEMA working among other issues that are aligned with the CDC and and the various federal relief legislation.The city may further face OHA recommendations. the potential delay of capital projects and will require careful • In April we activated our Emergency Operations Center.That management of city reserves. has since morphed into our Reconstitution meeting which convenes weekly to coordinate and identify needs and address Because of the numerous unknowns, including duration of the gaps. pandemic and lack of comparable data, potential impacts on the . We have canceled city-sponsored, in-person events for the next city are difficult to gauge. Nevertheless,our key financial staff few months and will revisit in 10 of 2021. have gathered the scant data available and made preliminary forecast of the financial impact of the COVID Pandemic on City of ' Weare operating as if we are in this phase(working remotely to the greatest extent possible)through the 10 2021. Tigard finances. Based on that analysis,we've made the following As previously mentioned,the city has issued and ratified an determinations: • At this time,we do not have a financial need to reduce services emergency declaration that has been extended several times. to the community. To Learn more: • The General Fund, in the proposed budget,will include viable . https://www.tigard-or.gov/corona/ reserves until FY28. • Property tax,a major revenue source for the General Fund, is • https://www.tigard-or.gov/TigardWorks/ expected to be less impacted than other types of tax streams. • https://www.tigard-or.gov/aid/ Real market property values would need to drop by about a • https://www.tigard-or.gov/resourceguide/ third to impact the anticipated 3%growth in assessed value. . https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.htmi • Revenue will decrease for business license fees,gas tax, and . https://www.oregon.gov/OHA/pages/index.aspx transient lodging tax.The photo enforcement program, off to a very slow start,will also generate revenue below projections. • Some projects funded by state and city gas tax will seek alternative funding sources or may need to be delayed, and the city's transportation Capital Improvement Plan will be adjusted.