WHAT HAPPENED: The legislature adjourned until
September after a series of floor votes failed to override a series of Gov. Roy
Cooper’s recent bill vetoes, including those focused on business reopenings
amid COVID-19. Municipal business wasn’t a big part of the General Assembly’s
week, but discussions did play out at the executive level regarding the
pandemic-related order from the governor that prohibits utility shutoffs.
WHAT IT MEANS: See the article below in this
bulletin for a full take, but as it stands that executive order is set to
expire at the end of this month. The Council of State spent lengthy time
discussing it at a meeting this week, ultimately with Governor Cooper saying
it’s unlikely he’ll extend the prohibition any further. The pressure to provide
service under revenue gaps hit a major pain point for municipalities,
discussed
recently by NCLM Executive Director Paul Meyer on WRAL.
ON TAP: It’s short notice at this point but there are
a couple more opportunities to join an info session with the N.C. Pandemic
Recovery Office. The call is free and will focus on spending of Coronavirus
Relief Fund money, distributions from counties to cities, who’s responsible for
expenditures, and more. The call is open to NCLM members, and is ideal for
municipal managers, clerks and finance officers.
THE SKINNY: Don’t forget -- you still need to
press for revenue replacement measures. As the pandemic continues and
trend numbers pose a difficult future, urge your members of Congress to support
relief measures directly to cities and towns so we can all get through this as
whole as possible. Remember, cities are essential.
There
is still an opportunity today (Friday, July 10) to join an info session with
the N.C. Pandemic Recovery Office (NC PRO). Thank you to the more than 200
local officials who yesterday joined the webinars that the League is co-hosting
with the N.C. Association of County Commissioners. These sessions are designed
to provide an overview of the distribution and spending of money from the
Coronavirus Relief Fund (CRF), which is being overseen by NC PRO. Information
on joining this afternoon’s webinars is available
here,
and anyone is welcome to join. Under S.L. 2020-80, counties are required to
distribute at least 25 percent of their total CRF allocation to municipalities.
Municipalities will then need to submit a plan for how they plan to spend these
funds to their county in advance of Sept. 1, when counties are required to
submit these plans to the state. Current guidance does not allow for these
funds to be spent on revenue replacement. However, the NC PRO
website
includes a wealth of FAQs and other information on how these funds may be
spent, including guidance on using these funds to provide assistance to utility
customers, small business grants, and much more.
See this template
for the required spending plan. If you have not done so already, League members
are encouraged to reach out to their county counterparts now to make sure they
are clear on the timeline and processes for receiving their CRF allocation and
submitting plans for how to spend it. We would like to thank NC PRO and NCACC
for their partnership in this important effort. If you have any questions,
please contact
League Director of Research & Strategic Initiatives
Chris Nida at any time.
The
need for federal assistance remains for cities and towns as the pandemic’s
effects continue, and could indeed worsen, the rough financial picture facing
municipalities this year, with long-lasting ripples if relief fails to come
from Capitol Hill. Statewide, municipalities are dealing with revenue and
resource hits directly related to the pandemic, including a dive of more than
11 percent in sales tax distributions compared to last year. It’s a growing $65
million tax dollar loss through no fault of the communities so hard-hit, and
will impact future projects that would otherwise support economic activity.
This means the ingredients of prosperity will not be in place without help. As
municipal utilities are currently prohibited from cutting service for
nonpayment, resources are dwindling there as well. League Executive Director
Paul Meyer recently explained how dire the circumstances are in an interview
with WRAL News. He noted how big of a problem it can be, especially for smaller
cities, whose utility offerings can make up half of their annual budget.
"This economic downturn may be the straw that broke the camel’s back for
those towns," Meyer told the news agency.
Another article,
from the Fayetteville Observer, gets into the specifics for small
towns whose customers have stopped paying bills.
Because cities and towns
are such economic engines, the story is beyond local. The League has created a
resource page where you can find N.C.-focused materials to make the case for
revenue replacement, as well as news coverage, at
www.nclm.org/covidfunding.
Let’s keep making that case so that municipalities can continue to help drive
economic recovery.
