Weekly Briefing with LG and State Epidemiologist

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Utah League of Cities and Towns

Preparing to move to yellow, a push for more data, FAQs from the Treasury

Today we share information on several items of interest to local leaders: an update from Lt. Governor Spencer Cox and State Epidemiologist Angela Dunn, FAQs from the Treasury Dept., and a reminder to submit data as we advocate for fiscal relief for municipalities.

Orange dial indicator

Transitioning out of Orange

Our weekly briefing with Lt. Governor Spencer Cox featured a special guest today, State Epidemiologist Angela Dunn. The two extended appreciation to local leaders for the work on the front lines to keep our communities healthy.

Lt. Governor Cox said he and the Governor are working on Utah Leads Together 3.0, which will include the transition from "orange" to "yellow."  The prep work is well underway and local leaders need to now be considering how they will operate in the "yellow" or low-threat phase.  Utah Leads Together 3.0 will likely be made public by the middle of the month.

As local leaders, especially those from smaller communities, aim to properly navigate through the pandemic, Dr. Dunn was asked how community leaders could gain better access to the data? The state health department is responsible for releasing data to local health departments, which are broken down into 99 small areas considered "community defined geographic areas."  In some cases where a community's population is small, it is difficult for health leaders to protect privacy and release numbers. The concern was expressed by ULCT and UAC that it's very difficult for local leaders to determine how to act in the best interest of their community without access to those numbers.  Dr. Dunn acknowledged that concern and said she will discuss the issue with local health officers in their weekly meeting. Watch for further information. 

To view the full conversation (edited for time/content) from today's webinar

click here. 

If you'd like to submit a question for next week's briefing for the Lt. Governor, you can do so on ULCT's coronavirus landing page.

Info for local governments released from Treasury  

As municipal governments assess their budget challenges in this pandemic, the Treasury has released FAQs about the CARES Act, specifically the Coronavirus Relief fund for states and local governments, that will help answer many questions. The League is working closely with our federal delegation to make sure municipal needs are addressed.  We have invited you, our local leaders, to assess the pertinent data and share it with us so that we may share it with them as they prepare to tackle another step in CARES Act funding (see next item in this email).  To view the Treasury's answers to questions about "necessary expenditures" related to COVID-19, click on the button below.

CLICK HERE