To: Honorable Mayor and Members of City Council
From: Steve Potter, City Manager
Prepared By: Tiffany Carranza, City Clerk
TITLE:
Title
Proclamation of Local Emergency to Respond to the Coronavirus (COVID-19)
LABEL
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Recommendation
Continue the Proclamation of Local Emergency; and authorize the City Manager to take actions necessary as the Director of Emergency Services, to respond to the Coronavirus (COVID-19), including scheduling public hearings to consider draft district boundary maps for district-based elections of Councilmembers.
Body
DISCUSSION:
The catastrophic coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) has severely impacted the community of residents, businesses, properties owners, and visitors that are served by the City of Napa; and it has concurrently and similarly severely impacted the operations and services that are provided by the City’s governmental organization to the community. Accordingly, on March 15, 2020, the City Manager issued a Proclamation of Local Emergency to Respond to the Coronavirus, which was ratified by City Council on March 16, 2020, and continued by City Council on March 31, 2020. The City has previously documented and described the impacts of COVID-19 on the City’s operations in the reports to Council on March 16 and 30, 2020.
The City Manager has determined that the conditions of local emergency continue to exist in the City, and therefore recommends that the City Council continue the proclamation of local emergency in order to respond to COVID-19.
Because the impacts of COVID-19 are evolving so fast and continuously, City staff will provide an update on the status of the impacts of COVID-19 during the Council meeting.
As a part of the report to Council, staff will also provide an update of the substantial impacts of COVID-19 on City operations, along with plans for how to address those impacts on a going forward basis, including impacts on services provided by City staff, as well as the scheduling of future actions to be taken by legislative bodies of the City (including the Council, Housing Authority, and Planning Commission).
Immediately following the proclamation of local emergency on March 15, 2020, and the Council’s ratification on March 16, 2020, the City was forced to cancel the Council meeting on March 17, 2020, and to adjust the scheduling of other items that were proposed for action by City Council. As a part of those adjustments, public hearings were cancelled for previously scheduled items for Council consideration on March 17 and April 7, related to the transition to district-based elections for Councilmembers. City staff now recommends that those public hearings for the district-based elections be rescheduled to be heard on April 21, 2020, at 6:30 p.m., and May 5, 2020, at 6:30 p.m. The public hearings will include a consideration of public input regarding the content of draft maps of district boundaries and the proposed sequence of elections for Councilmembers, as well as a recommended introduction and adoption of an ordinance to establish district-based elections.
Staff recommends that the City Council continue the City Manager’s Proclamation of Local Emergency in Response to the Coronavirus (COVID-19). Consistent with Napa Municipal Code Section 2.89.060, the City Manager will return to City Council, at least every 21 days, to review the need to continue the local emergency efforts.
FINANCIAL IMPACTS:
The future financial impact is unclear at this time, and so there are no impacts by this action; however, continuation of the emergency will facilitate the ability for the City to request resources including financial support and reimbursement from the State Office of Emergency Services (OES) and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for costs incurred as a result of the City’s response to COVID-19.
CEQA:
The City Manager has determined that the recommended action described in this agenda report is not subject to CEQA, pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15060(c).
DOCUMENTS ATTACHED:
None
NOTIFICATION:
None