Assembly halts individual payments from CARES funds

PALMER — At a special meeting of the Mat-Su Borough Assembly on Oct. 7, Borough Attorney Nick Spiropolous detailed the decision not to issue $100 assistance checks to each resident of the Mat-Su Borough that had received a Permanent Fund Dividend with CARES act money that the Assembly passed in June. The measure was initially brought up in public comment at the meeting to address absentee by mail ballots.

“Back when we passed our local resolution kind of divvying up the money and approving the funding spending plan, since that time the Department of Treasury has updated their guidance. They’ve updated it actually a couple of times and there’s a specific question in the guidance now that talks about what state local and tribal governments need to require before submitting business or individual assistance using payments under the fund and one of the exact words out of the guidance says ‘for example, a per capita payment to residents of a particular jurisdiction without an assessment of individual need would not be an appropriate use of payments from the fund,’” said Spiropolous.

The updated guidance led Spiropolous to advise the Assembly not to issue the payments. Spiropolous was asked by Assemblywoman Tam Boeve to provide an update and soon thereafter, Assembly members began contemplating how the nearly $10 million in CARES funds could be issued to Mat-Su Borough residents before the deadline on Dec. 30.

“I was shocked and dismayed by the Treasury’s new guidance on the CARES act money, basically preventing us from giving our working folks who have been hit so hard by this some assistance. So since that was the really only thing that we did to help just the regular folks, just the business and nonprofit grant thing has been going great and we’re doing a good job there, but I really hope we can find another way to use that $9.9 million to help the working folks here in the borough with something like utility assistance for housing assistance,” said Assemblyman Tim Hale.

Hale sponsored the measure to issue the individual payments, which at the time was still uncertain. The plan was to issue payments to each of the residents of the residents of the borough that had received a PFD last year. Hale’s amendment that would expend all of the $9.9 million evenly amongst those who applied eventually failed.

“If so the borough is going to issue a $100 stipend. This guidance says that without an assessment of individual need that would not be an appropriate use of payments from the fund and that guidance ties back to that it would be necessary in response and otherwise satisfy the requirements of the CARES act and applicable laws, so I think that guidance has led me to caution the borough to not move forward with the program because it wouldn’t’ meet Treasury’s guidelines,” said Spiropolous.

Though scheduling a special meeting was discussed, it was not explicitly scheduled. Mayor Vern Halter directed Finance Director Cheyenne Heindel and Acting Borough Manager George Hays to present the Assembly with a plan to dispense the funds with haste.

“We’re coming up on Dec. 30 and we also have to hit 80 percent spent of the funding that we do have, which is $26 million, in order to request that last $6 million. So we’ve really been thrown a curveball here,” said Assemlbywoman Stephanie Nowers. “I support what assembly member hale said some of these housing and utility assistance for people who need it.”