Hello Mayors, Finance Directors, City Managers/Administrators and Recorders, City leadership and staff are invited to attend a virtual brown bag lunch on Thursday, July 23 from 12-1:30 p.m. where LOC staff will present the latest information on allowed uses of Coronavirus Relief Fund (CRF) dollars, with a focus on guidance for standing up economic support programs. The LOC continues to engage with the Oregon Department of Administrative Services (DAS) on allowed uses of these funds, and cities are encouraged to send questions in advance to LOC Lobbyist Mark Gharst at mgharst@orcities.org. DAS has established a CRF Grant Portal for cities to use as they go forward with the distribution of CRF dollars into their communities. This grant portal is where cities will access their per-capita allocation of CRF funds that the LOC negotiated with the governor and the CRF work group. So far only 96 cities have registered - all cities must register on the portal to receive their share of CRF money. See the July 10 LOC Bulletin for more information, including estimated city shares and instructions on how to register and submit a reimbursement request. Primarily registration issues so far are due to the registrant failing to confirm their email or entering the wrong DUNS number. Grant managers in cities who took reimbursement in the first round should expect their CRF grant agreement with DAS to be amended soon. The amendment covers the total allocation instead of just the first cost reimbursement, and switches the performance period to March 1 through December 30. The amended agreements are required before the next disbursements will occur. Although most cities did not have reimbursable costs in the first phase of distributions, all cities will want to register now as this money can be used to stand up new programs, including assistance for local small businesses and residents who have been economically affected by the pandemic. This portal went live this week and cities have until July 24 to submit reimbursement requests for costs that were not reimbursed from March 1 to June 30, including economic support, sick leave, and childcare that may have been rejected in the first phase. Going forward, reimbursement requests will be made monthly via this portal, and will come off the total formula allocation based on each city's population or the minimum funding allocations. The LOC believes that any eligible cost not claimed in a prior request should be eligible for reimbursement in a future month, but we will be confirming with DAS. Likewise, if a city inadvertently overclaims costs in a prior request, we understand that they may simply reduce their next request to compensate. Those cities that do not have funds available up-front to stand up programs are encouraged to work directly with DAS to determine a path forward in order to take advantage of the CRF funds available under the allocation formula. Cities can contact DAS at CoronavirusReliefFund@Oregon.gov - this is also the general email where cities can ask DAS questions. All eligible COVID-19-related costs consistent with the U.S. Treasury guidance and a recently revised FAQ document are available for use of CRF funds. Additional information is available on the Treasury's website. Cities are encouraged to consult their city attorney with questions, and may also reach out to the LOC at the email below. Most importantly, cities are advised to please read the Treasury guidance and FAQ document. These resources should answer most questions, and they provide a road map for reimbursement of costs which may not have been considered. How to Call In: Dial-in number (US): (516) 387-8432 No access code Join via web: https://join.freeconferencecall.com/loc2020 Online meeting ID: loc2020 **Reminder to Call in Early – we’ve heard from several participants that the “lines get jammed” and they’ve had to call back several times to get through. To avoid this situation, participants should start calling at 11:45 a.m. **Please Mute Your Phone – as a courtesy to other callers, please remember to mute your phone or the microphone on your computer once you have joined Friday’s call. Getting a Busy Signal? – text "help" to (425) 436-6327 to receive a temporary backup number. Tap the number in your text to dial it. Another Option - Try the App Due to the unprecedented demand on phone networks, the conference call vendor recommends downloading their app, which has built-in call routing technology to help avoid phone carriers that are experiencing high congestion. In the app, you can also choose to call in using wifi. We suggest trying this if you previously called in and received a busy signal. Download for iPhone or Download for Android. If you choose to join us online, please use the Online Meeting ID loc2020. We look forward to speaking with you Thursday afternoon. | 
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