10-14-2020 Workshop Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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The 1st monthly report was submitted in September. The 2nd monthly report will be approved at the Council meeting on October 14th. A “single audit” at the end of the year will need to conducted to confirm the proper use of the funds. Any fund expended in a manner contrary to federal or state guidance will need to be repaid. Public Safety The Coronavirus Relief Fund (CRF) Guidance dated 09-02-2020 indicates that local governments “may presume that payroll costs for the public health and public safety employees are payments for services substantially dedicated to mitigating or responding to the COVID-19 public health emergency, unless the chief executive (or equivalent) of the relevant government determines that specific circumstances indicate otherwise.” On September 21st, the Department of the Treasury, Office of the Inspector General (OIG) released new guidance regarding documentation required for using CARES Act Funds to cover payroll costs for public health and safety employees. Per the new OIG guidance, governments can presume that all payroll costs for public health and public safety employees are payments for services sustainably dedicated to mitigating or responding to the COVID-19 public health emergency. Exerts from the new guidance regarding OIG’s responses regarding public health and public safety employees: 70. To what level of documentation will a government be held to support the reimbursement of public health and safety payroll that was "presumed" to be substantially dedicated to mitigating the emergency? The recipient of CRF payments must maintain and make available to Treasury OIG upon request, all documents and financial records sufficient to establish compliance with subsection 601(d) of the Social Security Act, as amended (42 U.S.C. 801(d)). Documents/records include payroll records for the covered period March 1 through December 30, 2020. Records include, but are not limited to (1) general and subsidiary ledgers used to account for the receipt of CRF payments and subsequent disbursements; and (2) payroll, time, and human resource records to support costs incurred for payroll expenses. Please refer to the Treasury OIG memorandum, Coronavirus Relief Fund Reporting and Record Retention Requirements (OIG-20-021; July 2, 2020). These document requirements apply to supporting payroll reimbursement amounts using CRF proceeds and not to support the presumption that public health and safety payroll is substantially dedicated to mitigating the emergency. (a)Will a government have to demonstrate/substantiate that a public health or public safety employee's function/duties were in fact substantially dedicated to mitigating the emergency? No, the government will not have to demonstrate/substantiate that a public health or public safety employee’s function/duties were substantially dedicated to mitigating the emergency but must maintain records and documentation supporting payroll amounts reimbursed using CRF proceeds. As indicated in Treasury’s Guidance, as an administrative accommodation, governments may presume that public health and public safety employees meet the substantially dedicated test, unless the chief executive (or equivalent) of the relevant government determines that specific circumstances indicate otherwise. Treasury’s FAQs add that entire payroll cost of an employee whose time is substantially dedicated to