Why were funds not directed to struggling small businesses?
I don’t know how closely members of our community follow the New Richland City Council. I have some questions regarding the most recent meeting and the handling of the CARES Act money received by the city.
My questions are: Was there any money offered to or given, back to community businesses or individuals struggling due to the economic repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic? If not, why? Why was no guidance offered to or by the city council on how best to use the CARES Act funds allocated to the City of New Richland for COVID-19 relief?
To answer my questions, I called city clerk Wayne Billing.
How much money did the city get for COVID relief from the CARES Act? Billing: “$90,600.” What did the city use it for? Billing: “To pay budgeted salaries for public personnel in the ambulance and police departments, which is allowed under state guidelines.”
Why did no one on the council make suggestions? Billing: “I didn’t push it, so they didn’t have a whole lot of information. I am not sure I asked it in a leading way.”
Did you make any suggestions about giving money back to the community? Billing: “I didn’t give the council a whole lot of information. I didn’t have the time to put it all together. The businesses in town had access to other relief money. Most of them are operating at way lower levels. The county used COVID money to give them money. If Federal PPE money and the COVID money from the county isn’t enough to keep them afloat, we could do something and we still can.”
Why were other cities like Janesville and Waseca able to give money back to businesses and not New Richland? Billing: “They got staff to figure it all out. I didn’t have time to put together a program for the criteria, send money out or have businesses do an application and give the city documentation of loss or whatever. However you want to do it.”
How much did the city's expenses go up because of COVID-19? Billing: “I don’t know how much more our costs went up because of COVID. Salaries for public safety were actually budgeted salaries. I don’t have a number for how much extra part-time police department officers were used because of COVID. I don’t know if it was for COVID or it just worked out that we had extra part-time salaries to cover. Most of that was budgeted but that was an allowable expense for COVID money.”
Again, how much did the city’s expenses go up and was it tracked or could it be tracked? Billing: “The reason I don't have an answer is because I didn’t track them that way, because I didn't have to report what I spent it (the CARES Act money) on. And it was allowed to be spent on public safety salaries. I didn’t track an increase for COVID.”
What did the city have to spend on expenses due to COVID-19? Billing: “Little things here and there that caused expenses to go up. Our expenses didn’t go up $90,000, if that’s what you’re asking. It was allowed to be used for previous publicly budgeted salaries.”
What was the money used for? Billing: “It helped the city's general fund balance, which was below operating guidelines. It goes back to ambulance and purchasing two years ago that caused our budget to go below guidelines. It replenished the general fund cash balance for the most part. The council could now or next month do what they want to use that general fund cash for something else and it wouldn’t have to be reported to the state. It doesn’t have to be reported to the state because it was reported as being used for budgeted public safety salaries. If I didn’t get the use of the funds reported used by Nov. 15, it (the CARES Act money) had to go back to the state. It's reported, so we got to keep it. Now that it's in the general fund, the city can decide what to do with it.”
It seems to me to be an act of negligence neither to raise the question nor discuss what to do with the CARES Act money.
The city council gave it little consideration or discussion, if any. To suggest that because the city reported the money as being used for budgeted salaries, so the city doesn't have to report what the money is being used for, begs the question: Is the money being used how it should be?
Other towns have given money back to struggling businesses. It is with deep concern that I note that has not occurred in our community. Instead, the City of New Richland took $90,600 from the CARES Act and essentially put it into the general fund. That does not sit well with me. Why has none of the $90,600 been spent to help relieve the financial burdens on small businesses or individuals in the community?
If there was not time necessary to allocate these funds, maybe a committee could have been or should still be assigned to this effort.