news Money Talks
Gulfport Council Talks COVID Funds, Tables Details By Abby Baker
PXHERE
Gulfport City Council debated the fate of millions of dollars in COVID-19 funds, parking lot legalities and green-lit a fishing tournament, amongst other things at the Tuesday, October 5 meeting. Big Bucks After months of what-ifs, council approved a contract with the State of Florida for the city’s portion of the Coronavirus Local Fiscal Recovery Funds amounting to $6,181,536. The funds are part of the American Recovery Plan Act 2021 and come with enough stipulations that the city has hired David Alvarez with Carr, Riggs & Ingram to do research on what the city can and cannot use the money for. An absolute “no” is the city spending the money to pay off any debts or putting it into a rainy day fund, says Alvarez. “From the start of the CARES act, I’ve been a part of an 8 to 10 person group doing research on this,” Alvarez said. “This is not a 5,000 page act where every question you have they give definite answers, because governments are all over the place
with what they’re spending the money on.” Whatever decisions the council comes to, the money must meet at least one bullet in the series of criteria: • Address the Negative Economic Impacts Caused by the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency • Support COVID-19 Related Public Health Expenditures • Replace Lost Public Sector Revenue • Provide Premium Pay for Essential Workers • Invest in Water, Sewer and Broadband Infrastructure
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City officials debated their economic priorities, which ranged from beach nourishment projects to a renovation of the Gulfport Multipurpose Senior Center. According to City Manager Jim O’Reilly, council will come back with more concrete decisions at the next meeting, October 19. “We’re recalibrating with council’s input and we are hoping to have more capital items focused for the next meeting,” O’Reilly told the Gabber. “I know it’s pretty vague and generic right now, but that’s because it’s a lot of information and we want to hone in on focus opportunities.” The city agreed to look into a $50 voucher for local businesses per household stimulus, in lieu of the original concept to provide utility bill assistance. Council moved away from the utility bill idea due to the complexity of identifying separate water meters in multiple household buildings and apartment complexes. “This is something tangible we’re looking to do right around the holidays,” said Mayor Sam Henderson. Alvarez said that this would be an eligible use as long as the city solely gave the certificates to people or businesses who can certify they suffered economic hardship during the pandemic. It’s unclear if and how the city will
theGabber.com | October 14, 2021 - October 20, 2021
