Governor Orders State of Emergency and Temporary Closure of Capitol
In close consultation with the Utah Department of Public Safety, Gov. Gary Herbert issued an Executive Order yesterday declaring a State of Emergency due to civil unrest. This order will temporarily close the State Capitol Complex to the public. The order is effective immediately, and the capitol campus will remain closed until Saturday, June 6 at 11:59 p.m. Official State business will continue at the Capitol building throughout the closure. The building has been closed to the public since March 14 to prevent the spread of COVID-19. View the full Executive Order here.
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State and County Distribution Information for Utah Municipalities
COVID Economic Impact- CARES Act Funding Distribution
The state is ready to begin distributing CARES Act coronavirus relief funds from the state pool to cities and towns throughout Utah. Salt Lake and Utah Counties are also making preparations to distribute funds to the cities within their counties as well. As a reminder, the CARES Act dollars may only be spent on “necessary expenditures” consistent with federal guidance and not for revenue replacement.
In Monday's Town Hall for Local Leaders, officials from the Governor's Office of Management and Budget and State Auditor's Office explained how our cities will be able to apply for funds, as well as which COVID-related costs will qualify. Salt Lake and Utah County officials also shared the criteria for accessing funds to help cover COVID costs in our cities and towns.
For the state pool, ULCT and UAC have shared the feedback from our members with state leaders about the exact mechanism for reporting how the relief funds are spent. Once the mechanism is final, then the dollars will flow according to population to every city, town, and county outside of Salt Lake and Utah Counties. State leaders expect that could occur as soon as this week.
For the two county pools, they also intend to make allocations in June to the cities therein. In Salt Lake County, Mayor Jenny Wilson shared a letter with cities (attached) and urged city leaders to coordinate on the CARES Act with their mayors who have a regular conference call with her and her team. Salt Lake County intends to allocate an amount in June to each city within the county according to population in a manner that is equivalent to the state formula. In Utah County, their representatives announced that they intend to allocate an amount in June to each city within the county according to population in a manner that is equivalent to the state formula. They acknowledged that the direct allocation is a change from what they had previously discussed with their cities. They also announced that the county commissioners would meet with the mayors of Utah County cities on Thursday evening to discuss details.
As you’ll see in the powerpoint, the state contemplates three tranches of allocations and the two counties have committed to distribute dollars according to the equivalent of the first state tranche. Discussions about the distribution formula for the remaining two state tranches will continue into the summer as we gather data about hot spots, costs, and other necessary expenditures. Likewise, discussions about potential future distributions within Salt Lake and Utah Counties will also continue.
Resources from ULCT Town Hall:
Auditor John Dougall, Jeremy Walker, State Auditor's Office
Guidance for Local Governments
SLCo CARES Distribution
Coronavirus Relief Fund FAQs
Corona Relief Fund Local Allocations
SLCo Letter
League staff review
Treasury FAQs May 28th
Tuesday, June 9 at 3:00 pm will be our next COVID Economic Impact Town Hall for Local Leaders- (time subject to change)
Sen. Jerry Stevenson, Co-Chair of the Executive Appropriations Committee, will discuss COVID-19 impacts on the state budget and legislative plans to adjust and cut expenditures when it meets in a special session, which is expected to be called on June 18th and 19th. We'll also have a briefing and Q&A with Lt. Governor Spencer Cox. Watch your inbox for additional details.
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