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Utah prepares to "move the dial" in working through the coronavirus
From his hospital bed direct to your home office- Congressman Ben McAdams addressed about 200 League and UAC members at today's ULCT Town Hall for Local Leaders. He, and other experts on national and state trends discussed federal stimulus options, economic indicators, up-to-the-minute data, and the state's plan to spring back from the pandemic.
Rep. McAdams outlined the 3 bills passed by congress to deal with the economic impact of the virus-- the "CARES Act." While the money to help small business has already been distributed, he, and his colleagues in Washington are working freeing up new resources to both small businesses and local governments.
While it seems likely a new "3.5" version of the CARES Act will be approved, Rep. McAdams says there is an ongoing internal debate in Washington over additional funding for state and local governments. He acknowledged ULCT concerns about the CARES Act definitions and said that he, like ULCT and UAC, sent a letter to the Treasury Department urging flexibility in their guidance. More will be known when the Treasure responds by April 24th.
Rep. McAdams is also working with his colleagues on a "4th stimulus" which would free up funding for smaller cities and towns. Presently, the only direct funding option for municipalities in the US in the CARES Act has been only available to those with a population of more than 500 thousand. He said he had heard from city, town, and county leaders and appreciated ULCT’s and UAC’s advocacy.
For complete details of his efforts in Washington and the status, according to Rep. McAdams on these developments, click the link below to watch his entire remarks.
Economic Experts gave us a closer look at the Utah Leads Together 2.0 plan, which is providing a detailed guide for the state and it's unique communities. The plan breaks down the pandemic rates and economic impact by counties, answering critical questions and providing key measures on which local leaders can make data-driven decisions. Team ULCT was involved in drafting the plan. Local government has multiple roles therein; we are both employers and facilitators for public health, economic health, and social health.
The Dial to a "New Normal"
Phil Dean, Chief Economist from the Governor's Office of Management and Budget, joined Natalie Gochnour, Director of the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute, and explained the color dial that should bring Utah to its "new normal."
"We have to manage it. We can't take public health measures that are so blunt as to shut down the whole economy," Gochnour explains. Dean expressed his solid hope, based on the data, in our state's ability to "turn the dial" from the red (urgent) phase to orange (stabilization) and eventually to green. Both explain our collective progress which, if consistent, will work to steadily turn up that switch to a brighter Utah. The Governor’s directive expires on May 1 and the legislature passed a bill last week to require him to make new recommendations, based on the input of a newly formed state commission, by April 30.
CLICK HERE TO WATCH TOWN HALL
Tomorrow, our ULCT/UAC webinar will feature our weekly Q&A with Lt. Governor Spencer Cox. We ask our members weekly to submit any questions prior to Monday at noon for these webinars to assure our experts have all appropriate information necessary for an answer. If a question does arise during the conversation, we invite you to type it in the chat portion as all microphones but the presenters will be on mute.
We'll provide additional coordinates for you tomorrow via email.
Also, mark your calendar for a double header of webinar information regarding electronic meetings on Thursday.
You'll hear from Dave Biggs (Metroquest and former ULCT Keynote) and a panel of experts on what's working nationally and here in Utah.
Thank you for your support of ULCT. We are working daily to bring you resources you can depend on in your unique cities and towns.
Team ULCT
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