Laserfiche WebLink
<br />6 <br /> <br />Many state, local, territorial, and Tribal governments have experienced significant budget shortfalls, <br />which can yield a devastating impact on their respective communities. Faced with budget shortfalls and <br />pandemic-related uncertainty, state and local governments cut staff in all 50 states. These budget <br />shortfalls and staff cuts are particularly problematic at present, as these entities are on the front lines of <br />battling the COVID-19 pandemic and helping citizens weather the economic downturn. <br />Recipients may use these funds to replace lost revenue. Treasury’s Interim Final Rule establishes a <br />methodology that each recipient can use to calculate its reduction in revenue. Specifically, recipients <br />will compute the extent of their reduction in revenue by comparing their actual revenue to an <br />alternative representing what could have been expected to occur in the absence of the pandemic. <br />Analysis of this expected trend begins with the last full fiscal year prior to the public health emergency <br />and projects forward at either (a) the recipient’s average annual revenue growth over the three full <br />fiscal years prior to the public health emergency or (b) 4.1%, the national average state and local <br />revenue growth rate from 2015-18 (the latest available data). <br />For administrative convenience, Treasury’s Interim Final Rule allows recipients to presume that any <br />diminution in actual revenue relative to the expected trend is due to the COVID-19 public health <br />emergency. Upon receiving Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds, recipients may <br />immediately calculate the reduction in revenue that occurred in 2020 and deploy funds to address any <br />shortfall. Recipients will have the opportunity to re-calculate revenue loss at several points through the <br />program, supporting those entities that experience a lagged impact of the crisis on revenues. <br />Importantly, once a shortfall in revenue is identified, recipients will have broad latitude to use this <br />funding to support government services, up to this amount of lost revenue. <br />5. Providing premium pay for essential workers <br />Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds provide resources for eligible state, local, territorial, <br />and Tribal governments to recognize the heroic contributions of essential workers. Since the start of the <br />public health emergency, essential workers have put their physical well-being at risk to meet the daily <br />needs of their communities and to provide care for others. <br />Many of these essential workers have not received compensation for the heightened risks they have <br />faced and continue to face. Recipients may use this funding to provide premium pay directly, or through <br />grants to private employers, to a broad range of essential workers who must be physically present at <br />their jobs including, among others: <br /> Staff at nursing homes, hospitals, <br />and home-care settings <br /> Workers at farms, food production <br />facilities, grocery stores, and restaurants <br /> Janitors and sanitation workers <br /> Public health and safety staff <br /> <br /> Truck drivers, transit staff, and <br />warehouse workers <br /> Childcare workers, educators, and school <br />staff <br /> Social service and human services staff <br /> <br />Treasury’s Interim Final Rule emphasizes the need for recipients to prioritize premium pay for lower <br />income workers. Premium pay that would increase a worker’s total pay above 150% of the greater of <br />the state or county average annual wage requires specific justification for how it responds to the needs <br />of these workers.