At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Lynchburg canceled plans to give city employees long-awaited raises, but following the distribution of a second round of CARES Act funding, Lynchburg City Council approved a one-time $1,700 bonus for every municipal employee.
The second wave of federal relief money, which arrived this month, grants Lynchburg an additional $7.1 million, bringing the city’s new total to about $14.3 million in CARES Act funds.
The local funding is part of the $2 trillion federal pandemic relief package signed into law in late March to help keep the economy afloat amid the economic downturn.
Tuesday night, city council approved the spending plan proposed by the city’s Long-Term Recovery Team, a group of city officials tasked with managing the federal aid. The bulk of the money was directed toward public safety pay and small business support, with additional funds in part being directed to retrofit city facilities for public health and safety purposes.
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Lynchburg’s Chief Finance Officer Donna Witt said the second round of financial support is directed at anything not funded by the first distribution, and a stringent deadline as well as strict guidelines for how the money must be spent forced staff to move quickly.
The funds must be spent by Dec. 30 and can be used only to pay for one-time expenses directly tied to the public health emergency.
Though CARES Act money cannot be directly used to grant employee bonuses, it can be used to reimburse public safety payroll. On Tuesday, council approved that allocation and freed up about $2.1 million in the general fund to be redirected to employee bonuses.
Prorated based on scheduled hours, the bonuses will be distributed to all 1,200 city employees.
City Manager Bonnie Svrcek pushed hard for the bonuses and said slashing the proposed 3% employee raise from the budget earlier in the year had been incredibly disappointing.
“Our employees … they have been relentless since the middle of March when COVID hit, showing up every day, 24/7, whenever they needed to show up,” Svrcek said. “I believe it is extraordinarily important to recognize them for that work.”
The motion to approve the bonuses was split 6-1, with Vice Mayor Beau Wright opposing. While he emphasized his support of providing bonuses to municipal city employees, he said until it was ensured that city school employees would also be granted a bonus, he would not support the motion.
“I have a deep concern about that disparity,” Wright said.
Witt said in her discussions with LCS Chief Financial Officer Kim Lukanich bonuses are not currently “on the table” for school employees. Witt said Lukanich did indicate an interest in a bonus for school employees in the future, if funds allow.
In the first round of CARES funding, Lynchburg allocated a little more than $2 million to Lynchburg City Schools.
In Lynchburg the second round of federal aid is directed at three broad categories: public health and safety, continuity of operations and business and community support.
Among these expenditures is $2 million to provide grants for businesses impacted by COVID-19, bringing the total amount of money funneled into that grant program up to $4 million.
Witt said the business grant program will be rolled out in the next couple of weeks. Eligibility and the amount of each grant will be based on the number of employees at the business.
Notably, about $270,000 is being allocated to the Greater Lynchburg Transit Company, reviving free Sunday service for all riders. Another $200,000 will be split between the nonprofits Miriam’s House, Lynchburg Community Action Group and Interfaith Outreach to provide rental and utility assistance, said Witt.
“We really are trying to utilize this money where we can get the biggest bang for the buck,” Witt said. “If they’re going to give it to us, let’s figure out how we really utilize it to make a difference in the city ongoing.”