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HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 15 - Authorization to enter the County of SLO COVID-19 Vaccination Assistance Agreement Department Name: Fire Cost Center: 8501 For Agenda of: February 2, 2021 Placement: Consent Estimated Time: N/A FROM: Keith Aggson, Fire Chief Prepared By: James Blattler, Senior Administrative Analyst SUBJECT: AUTHORIZATION TO ENTER THE COUNTY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO COVID-19 VACCINATION ASSISTANCE AGREEMENT RECOMMENDATION Authorize the City Manager to sign the County of San Luis Obispo’s COVID-19 Vaccination Assistance Agreement, and to make minor changes to the Agreement that may arise, pending formal adoption from the County Board of Supervisors and other participating agencies. DISCUSSION Background Throughout the COVID-19 Pandemic the City of San Luis Obispo (City) and County of San Luis Obispo (County) have taken a unified approach to help protect the health and safety of the community. This same approach will be essential with the COVID-19 vaccination response to protect public health and safety of City and County residents and to fully reopen local businesses and schools to support the economic recovery process for our region and return daily life to as close to that which existed prior to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The timing and scale of a countywide vaccination effort exceeds the operational capacity of the County and its Public Health function. Through the COVID-19 Vaccination Assistance Agreement (Agreement) (Attachment A) the City of San Luis Obispo would commit to assist this effort with City resources that would be reimbursable by the County with federal or state funding they receive that is dedicated to pay for this vaccination effort. The Agreement outlines eligible versus non-eligible costs for reimbursement and the process in which the County will provide reimbursement to participating agencies. The Agreement, which still requires approval from the County of San Luis Obispo Board of Supervisors, is drafted to initially include the Cities of Arroyo Grande, Atascadero, Grover Beach, Morro Bay, Paso Robles, Pismo Beach, San Luis Obispo and the Five Cities Fire Authority. The City’s participation in the vaccination effort will likely come from Fire Department personnel time. The Fire Chief, a Fire Captain and Senior Administrative Analyst are members of the County’s Multi-Jurisdictional All-Hazard Incident Management Team which has taken over the management of the vaccination effort through Public Points of Distribution (PPOD). Item 15 Packet Page 163 Additionally, Paramedics and EMTs will be tasked with providing vaccines at the various PPOD locations throughout the County. Policy Context The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (H.R. 133) was signed into law on December 27, 2020 and includes $4.5 billion in funding to be allocated to states, localities, and territories to plan, prepare for, administer, monitor and track COVID-19 vaccines and ensure broad distribution and access. President Biden has indicated that there may be additional direct or indirect funding available for vaccination administration. Public Engagement This item is on the agenda for the February 2, 2021 City Council meeting and will follow all required postings and notifications. The public will have the opportunity to provide comment on this item at or before the meeting. The other six cities, county and fire authority intend to consider the MOU during the first part of February 2021. CONCURRENCE City Administration has been involved in the negotiation and review of the agreement and concur with the report’s recommendation. ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW The California Environmental Quality Act does not apply to the recommended action i n this report, because the action does not constitute a “Project” under CEQA Guidelines Sec. 15378. FISCAL IMPACT Budgeted: No Budget Year: 2021 Funding Identified: Yes Fiscal Analysis: While the City’s participation in the County’s COVID-19 vaccination effort has not been budgeted, the assistance agreement helps ensure maximum reimbursement for costs associated with the City’s response. Per the agreement, the amount of reimbursement will be contingent on the amount of financial assistance the County receives from the State and Federal Government. If the County receives 100% of the total vaccination effort costs, the City will receive 100% of its eligible costs. If the County receives less than 100%, the City will receive the percentage of funding that was provided to the County. Any costs not recovered from the County can be submitted for COVID-19 cost reimbursement through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and/or the State of California. Item 15 Packet Page 164 In addition to receiving federal funding from H.R. 133, the County may receive additional funding for vaccine distribution from the State and Federal government. Governor Newsom’s proposed state budget for FY 2021-22 includes $350 million for State-sponsored vaccine distribution efforts and President Biden has indicated that additional federal funding may be made available to states and local agencies to support vaccination efforts. ALTERNATIVE Do not participate in the County’s Vaccination Assistance Agreement . This is not recommended as it will pr event the City’s ability to seek reimbursement from the County for costs associated in the City’s response or preclude the City’s ability to assist in an essential effort to protect the health and safety of the community. Attachments: a - COVID-19 Vaccination Assistance Agreement Item 15 Packet Page 165 Page 1 of 4 AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE COUNTY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO AND THE CITIES OF ARROYO GRANDE, ATASCADERO, GROVER BEACH, MORRO BAY, PASO ROBLES, PISMO BEACH, AND SAN LUIS OBISPO FOR COUNTYWIDE COVID-19 VACCINATION EFFORT ASSISTANCE THIS AGREEMENT (“Agreement”) is made and entered into on January 26, 2021 by and between the Cities of Arroyo Grande, Atascadero, Grover Beach, Morro Bay, Paso Robles, Pismo Beach, and San Luis Obispo (collectively, the “Cities”) and the County of San Luis Obispo (“County”). WITNESSETH: WHEREAS, the Cities and the County (collectively, the “Parties” or individually a “Party”) agree that a coordinated and cooperative vaccination response to the COVID-19 pandemic is in the best interest of all citizens; and, WHEREAS, the Cities and the County agree that an expedited COVID-19 vaccination effort is essential to protect public health and safety of San Luis Obispo County residents and to fully reopen local businesses and schools to support the economic recovery process for our region and return daily life to as close to that which existed prior to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic; and, WHEREAS, the Cities and the County understand that the timing and scale of this countywide vaccination effort exceeds the operational capacity of the County and its Public Health function and the Cities commit to assist this effort with city resources that would be reimbursable by the County with federal or state funding received that was dedicated to pay for this vaccination effort; and, WHEREAS, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (H.R. 133), which was signed into law on December 27, 2020 by President Trump, includes $4.5 billion in funding to be allocated to states, localities, and territories to plan, prepare for, administer, monitor, and track coronavirus vaccines and ensure broad distribution and access; and, WHEREAS, in addition to receiving federal funding from H.R. 133, the County may receive additional funding for vaccine distribution from the federal government as well as from state government such as through Governor Newsom’s proposed state budget for FY 2021-22, which includes $350 million for State-sponsored vaccine distribution efforts; and, WHEREAS, President-Elect Biden has indicated that additional federal funding may be made available to states and local agencies to support vaccination efforts and defray or cover all costs; and WHEREAS, the Cities and the County agree to work together to support this significant and historic vaccination effort with the city resources specified below at the request of the County Public Health Officer and consistent with the “Vaccination Letter of Expectation” approved by the Public Health Officer and the County’s Incident Management Team to protect the health and safety of all San Luis Obispo County residents. Item 15 Packet Page 166 Page 2 of 4 NOW, THEREFORE, the Cities and County agree as follows: 1. ASSISTANCE AGREEMENT: The following is an Assistance Agreement between the above-named Parties negotiated specifically for the COVID-19 vaccination of citizens of San Luis Obispo County (“Incident”). 2. SCOPE OF ASSISTANCE: The Parties commit to providing necessary resources to carry out the COVID- 19 vaccination effort throughout the County as requested in the “Vaccination Letter of Expectation” approved by the County Public Health Department and the County’s Incident Management Team and attached hereto as Exhibit A. These resources include staffing and out of pocket expenses such as Personal Protective Equipment that represent marginal costs for the vaccination effort. Staffing assistance from the Cities will largely come from each city’s respective fire department though staffing from other city departments may also be used if necessary. Necessary resources will be determined by each city in consultation with the County and the County Incident Management Team based on resource capacity and availability as some Cities do not have a separate fire department but are served by a multi-agency fire service. 1. REIMBURSABLE COSTS: The following items are reimbursable costs to the Cities by the County for assistance to the County in this COVID-19 vaccination effort which would be similar to reimbursable costs incurred by the County: a. Additional staff hired specifically to support the Incident. b. Additional staff hired to provide substitute/backfill for existing city staff who are assigned to support the Incident. c. Salary (including both base pay and any applicable overtime incentives, but excluding Party overheads such as employee benefits, insurance and payroll taxes) for staff working on the Incident. Because assignments of hourly personnel are anticipated to be in addition to normal duties, and not instead of, in all cases where staff is eligible for overtime incentives, cost for both base pay and overtime incentives will be included, regardless of whether the individual is being paid overtime. d. Cost for equipment, consumables, and other needs specifically purchased for use while providing support to the Incident including, but not limited to: Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), food, water, paper, pencils, and pens. e. Cost for equipment and consumables taken for use at the Incident that will require replacement at the end of the Incident such as items listed in subsection 3.d above. 2. EXCLUDED FROM REIMBURSABLE COSTS: The following items are city expenses that will not be eligible for reimbursement by the County with federal or state funding associated with vaccination efforts. Where appropriate, such expenses will be tracked, and documentation of such expenses will be provided to the County, as they may be reimbursable through FEMA or the State of California and information related to the types of costs will be provided by each Party to the County: a. Staff assigned to the Incident who are relieved of normal duties. b. Agency and management overhead for staff assigned to the Incident. c. Existing equipment and consumables that are not purchased for the Incident and do not require replacement at the end of the Incident. d. Costs for non-expendable property purchases made by the Cities that can be repurposed for non-Incident purposes. e. Costs incurred by the Cities not directly related to COVID-19 vaccination activities. Item 15 Packet Page 167 Page 3 of 4 3. REIMBURSEMENT: The County commits to reimburse the Cities for eligible costs defined in Section 3 using federal or state funding received by the County dedicated to COVID-19 vaccination efforts. In the event that federal or state funding does not fully cover the reimbursable costs incurred by the Cities, the County will reimburse each city based on the formula defined below in subsection 5.b.. The County agrees it will pursue additional reimbursement from FEMA and the State of California for all such costs on behalf of all the Parties. Where reimbursement is received from FEMA or the State, the County will provide funds to all Parties in accordance with this Agreement. a. To ensure timely and accurate cost tracking for reimbursement, all Parties agree to provide the County with documentation of ongoing total eligible costs/expenditures incurred within thirty (30) days of each completed quarter and within thirty (30) days of the termination of the County led vaccination effort, hereinafter referred to as the “Final Cost Reporting”. Should a cost be excluded due to untimely submission, such costs will still be included with costs submitted for COVID-19 cost reimbursement through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and/or the State of California. b. In the event that federal or state funding provided to the County is less than the total costs incurred by all Parties, the County will reimburse each city the proportion of the funding received in comparison to the total costs. i. Example: If the County receives 75% of the total costs incurred by Parties, the County will reimburse each city 75% of their individual agency eligible costs. 1. If the total vaccination effort cost is equal to $5,000,000 and the total federal and state funding received by the County is $3,750,000, a City with an eligible total cost to provide assistance of $500,000 would be reimbursed $375,000 by the County. c. Reimbursement will be issued within sixty (60) days following the receipt by the County of eligible federal or state funding, or within sixty (60) days of the Final Cost Reporting if state or federal funding is received by the County prior to the termination of the County led vaccination effort. d. The Parties acknowledge that other eligible funding received for vaccination work will be applied towards reimbursement of eligible costs identified in Section 3. 4. OTHER PARTIES: Should the County seek the assistance from other government agencies located in the County of San Luis Obispo in relation to the County-wide vaccination efforts not party to this agreement, including special districts, an amendment of this agreement adding said party should be completed in agreement by all existing Parties. 5. LIABILITY: Responsibility for tort claim costs or compensation for injury costs will not be a part of this Agreement. Responsibility for these costs will be determined outside of this agreement. 6. NON-DISCRIMINATION: All Parties shall not discriminate against any person or class of persons in violation of any and all Federal, State, and local non-discrimination laws. 7. COMPLIANCE WITH ALL LAWS: All Parties agree to abide by all laws and regulations applicable to the expenditure of public funds, including but not limited to, the audit of the expenditure of these funds by Federal, State, or County for compliance with regulations and the inclusion of provisions guaranteeing compliance with all labor laws and regulations pertinent to public funds. Item 15 Packet Page 168 Page 4 of 4 8. SEVERABILITY: The invalidity of any provision of the Agreement shall not affect the validity or enforceability of any other provision of the Agreement. Item 15 Packet Page 169 BLANK PAGE This page is intended to be blank so that you can print double-sided. Item 15 Packet Page 170