Title
RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT OF FEDERAL LEGISLATION PROVIDING EMERGENCY FISCAL RELIEF TO LOCAL GOVERNMENTS EXPERIENCING ECONOMIC HARDSHIP DUE TO THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC.
Body
BY PRESIDENT ANDERSON AND CITY PROPOSAL:
WHEREAS, on March 13, 2020, President of the United States declared that the COVID-19 outbreak in the United States constitutes a National Emergency;
WHEREAS, on March 13, 2020, Governor Walz declared a peacetime state of emergency to authorize all necessary resources to be used in support of the COVID-19 response;
WHEREAS, since March 16, 2020, the city of Duluth has been under a local emergency declaration because the COVID-19 Pandemic threatens the health, safety, and welfare of the residents and businesses of the community and threatens the provision and delivery of city services;
WHEREAS, on March 27, 2020, the President of the United States signed into law the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the "CARES Act") which created the Coronavirus Relief Fund;
WHEREAS, only municipalities with more than 500,000 residents were eligible to receive direct funding from the Coronavirus Relief Fund, which represents only 0.5 percent of municipalities nationwide and only 14 percent of the country's total population;
WHEREAS, the city of Duluth experienced a significant shortfall in revenue because of the decline in the city's sales and use taxes which negatively impacted the city's budget;
WHEREAS, the city's quasi-governmental entities operating as "enterprise funds" designed to generate revenue to cover operational costs, such as the Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center authority and Spirit Mountain Recreation Area authority, did not receive any COVID-19 relief pursuant to the CARES Act;
WHEREAS, pandemic unemployment assistance expires in December 2020, ending the expanded unemployment insurance eligibility for independent contractors and the self-employed and the extended time frame for receiving benefits;
WHEREAS, loc...
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