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Resolution approving budget amendment 21.005 appropriating $250,000 in the City of South San Francisco’s Low and Moderate Income Housing Fund in Fiscal Year 2020-2021 for Emergency Rental Assistance for South San Francisco residents facing financial hardship due to the COVID-19 pandemic and $37,500 for associated administration (Kris Romasanta, Community Development Coordinator)
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WHEREAS, on April 8, 2020, City Council adopted a Resolution appropriating $220,000 to the existing Emergency Rental Assistance Program through the City’s Low and Moderate Income Housing Fund (also known as Fund 241) in Fiscal Year 2019-2020 (FY 19-20) for the purpose of South San Francisco residents facing financial hardship due to COVID-19 pandemic and $22,000 for associated administration; and
WHEREAS, since March 16, 2020, the Shelter in Place Order issued by San Mateo County has had a devastating economic impact to the local economy, disproportionately affecting low-income South San Francisco renters, who most likely work in service-oriented jobs; and
WHEREAS, while essential businesses are allowed to remain open, all retail and industrial use services were temporarily closed. For some, this prolonged uncertainty has caused many businesses to lose revenue or permanently close, leading to major reductions in hours and layoffs; and
WHEREAS, emergency rental assistance programs have played a key role for low-income renters as local jurisdictions recognize that renters are highly vulnerable to debt, homelessness, and displacement once State and County moratoria on residential evictions expire; and
WHEREAS, with the surge of rental assistance requests, cities have shifted local, state, and CARES Act funding towards rental assistance programs. In South San Francisco, YMCA, the City’s primary agency for providing such assistance, has seen five to six times the average amount of requests per month due to the financial strain of the pandemic; and
WHEREAS, between April 8 and June 17, 2020, YMCA has approved 60 households for the South San Francisco Emergency Rental Assistance Program, totaling $199,000 in rental assistance requests, servicing 146 people; and
WHEREAS, sixty percent of households participating in the South San Francisco Emergency Rental Assistance Program are families, while 40% are couples and individual households. Rental requests range from $400 to $4,500, with the average request being $3,318; and
WHEREAS, the City expects to expend all of the rental assistance funds by June 30, 2020, serving approximately 70 households. This new budget appropriation will provide financial relief beyond the County’s moratorium and help ensure that low-income residents do not fall into homelessness; and
WHEREAS, SB 341 allows the City to spend up to $250,000 annually from Fund 241 on homeless prevention and rapid rehousing and $200,000 on administrative expenses; and
WHEREAS, the City Council authorized the expenditure of $250,000 total from Fund 241 for rental assistance in FY 19-20; and
WHEREAS, the City Council wishes to appropriate $250,000 for rental assistance associated with impacts from COVID-19 and $37,500 for associated administrative expenses in FY 20-21; and
WHEREAS, the unencumbered cash balance of Fund 241 as of June 18, 2020 is $2.4 million.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of South San Francisco that the City Council does hereby approve budget amendment 21.005 appropriating $250,000 for emergency rental assistance and $37,500 for associated administrative expenses from Fund 241.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that, in the event that the FY 20-21 budget is not approved at the City Council meeting held on June 24, 2020, $250,000 are hereby appropriated from Fund 241 and authorized to be expended in FY 20-21 as part of an interim spending plan for the purposes described in this Resolution.
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