The City of Greenwood plans to use $1.9 million in federal aid money to refund unforeseen coronavirus-related expenses, but that money will not cover budgeted revenue that was lost in the past few months.
As part of the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, Greenwood received $1.9 million to help the community recover its losses from the ongoing pandemic. The money came with a specific set of guidelines and can only be used to cover expenses outside the city’s budget, said Greg Wright, city controller.
The funding is part of the $2 trillion dollar CARES Act Congress passed in March to help individuals, businesses and communities around the country during the pandemic. From the money in that bill, $150 billion was allocated to state and local governments for coronavirus response.
Greenwood being the largest city in Johnson County, it received the largest chunk of the $8.6 million distributed to the county, as well as its cities and towns, as the amount given was based on population.
The money can go toward public health expenses, and to pay those who work in public safety, public health, health care and human services-related jobs, Wright said. It can also be used as a reimbursement for money outside the budget that was used to facilitate COVID-19 safety guidelines, such as with online learning at schools, remote work for public employees and food delivery to senior citizens.
The City of Greenwood hasn’t done the math yet to figure out how much it has spent on coronavirus response, but Wright expects all of the $1.9 million to be used once it is calculated, he said. The biggest expenses for Greenwood included purchasing personal protective equipment, sanitizing supplies and additional pay for public safety officials, he said.
In March, the city acquired funds from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to cover the cost of city departments using WebEx, a video conferencing service, for virtual meetings. Those early funds give the city the flexibility to use this round of CARES Act money for other, unrelated expenses, Wright said.
Greenwood’s budget is expected to take a hit due to the pandemic, and this money will help offset that hit a little, Mayor Mark Myers said.
“This will help us pay back expenses that were not expected, so it won’t be such a drain on our budget because we know our budget is expected to take a big hit,” Myers said.
Since this money can only be used for coronavirus-related expenses outside the city’s budget, there will still be some lost revenue that cannot be made up for, Wright said. Greenwood lost thousands of dollars in revenue due to several agencies being closed to the public from March to May, particularly the Greenwood Parks and Recreation Department, one of the city’s biggest money makers, especially during the spring and summer months.
“There are some departments that we still have shortfalls in, where we expected revenue, and this grant isn’t for that,” he said.
The parks department took a significant revenue hit due to canceled events, temporarily closing services and delayed summer activities, such as the delayed opening of the Freedom Springs Aquatic Center, Wright said.
The department will lose more than $200,000 at the pool alone, which is still operating at a limited capacity, he said. The water park opened to season pass holders last week and plans to hold off opening for day passes until July. Those passes make up a good chunk of Freedom Springs’ yearly revenue.
“We don’t have any way to make that up,” Wright said. “We can’t add on days to the swimming pool because kids are back in school.”
Also, the city lost more than $69,000 by canceling the Freedom Festival, and about $37,000 by closing the community center to the public from March to the end of May, he said.
Some of that revenue was made up for by not paying seasonal employees during the closures, Wright said.
Beyond the parks department, the Indy South Greenwood Airport reported its revenue was down by $200,000 from March to May. The city is also expecting a 40% loss from fuel taxes since gas prices are low and people were driving less during the state’s stay-at-home order, he said.
Greenwood received an additional $211,000 as part of the federal Community Development Block Grant, which is awarded yearly to cities to be used for community development projects, including housing, food pantries or senior services improvements, for example.
This additional money from that grant will be given to local food pantries, housing and youth services in the city, Myers said. Local organizations were asked to apply for the grants, but which organizations will receive funding has not been finalized yet, he said.
“Those people have been working tirelessly trying to help the residents of this city,” Myers said. “And it’s (the grant) helping them recover funds that they have lost during the pandemic.”
