City Council To Discuss CARES Act Reimbursements, More

Staff Reports

The San Marcos City Council will receive a staff presentation on CARES act reimbursements and the use of potentially available funds during their Work Session Tuesday.

As part of the CARES Act implementation last year, the US Treasury Department created the Coronavirus Relief Fund (CRF) and issued funding to the states to distribute to smaller communities.

On December 15, 2020, the City of San Marcos submitted an application to TDEM for the City’s full allocation of $3.6 million according to the rules of the grant program.

TDEM is currently reviewing the application and intends to inform the City by mid-March of the amount approved.

According to the agenda, if TDEM approves the application as submitted, the City will be able to reimburse the General Fund approximately $2.7 million for police and fire salary expenditures in calendar year 2020.

The City Council has expressed the desire to use as much of this amount as possible on programs that provide community services.

The agenda states that a portion of the funds will have to be used to cover ongoing unbudgeted expenses to “protect the fiscal health of the city,” and staff estimates approximately $2.0 Million to $2.3 Million will remain for community services programs.  

During the work session, city staff will seek direction from the council on what programs should have funds allocated to them and how much as well as how the allocations are to occur.

The city council’s regular work session will convene at 3:00 PM virtually.