10 - Ordinance Extending the Mayor' Declaration of Local Disaster for an additional 90 days

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Item No. 10 TO: City Council Grayson Path, City Manager FROM: Stephanie H. Harris, City Attorney SUBJECT: Ordinance to extend COVID-19 disaster declaration to April 24, 2021 DATE: January 11, 2021 BACKGROUND: On March 19th, Mayor Clifford issued a disaster declaration and order related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Council extended the disaster declaration by periods of 30 days, and in July, Council extended the disaster declaration by 60 days. In September, Council extended the declaration until January 24, 2021. STATUS OF ISSUE: It is advisable that the city extend the declaration of disaster throughout the duration of this pandemic because it has implications for the receipt of state and federal disaster - related funding and reimbursements. As of this time, none of the disaster aid available to the city including funding under the CARES Act has required a disaster declaration; however, as a belt and suspenders approach, it is advisable to extend the declaration, and there are no negative consequences for doing so. All previous mandates contained in the Mayor's disaster orders and the Council's resolution and ordinances adopting same have expired, and the city is now deferring to Governor Abbott's executive orders regarding COVID-19. Previous extensions of the city's disaster declaration have been for 30 to 120 days. I am recommending extending the declaration for 90 days because that gets us through the winter and April will be a good time to re-evaluate whether the declaration is still necessary. The declaration can always be reconsidered and terminated should conditions change before the end of the 90 day period. BUDGET: No direct impact. Extending the disaster declaration may enable us to secure disaster funding the city might not otherwise be entitled to. RECOMMENDATION: Move to approve an ordinance extending the declaration of disaster for COVID-19 related public health emergency for 90 days, or until April 24, 2021,