Mono County COVID-19 News and Updates: April 23
Mammoth Town Council approves $200,000 in rental assistance, California will pay $3 billion in unemployment this week, Mono County…
Mammoth Town Council approves $200,000 in rental assistance, California will pay $3 billion in unemployment this week, Mono County approves temporary cannabis delivery and supports all-mail ballot for November elections, Governor Newsom announced disaster relief for undocumented workers
By Monica Prelle
In a 4–1 vote, the Mammoth Lakes Town Council approved $200,000 in rental assistance for residents impacted by COVID-19. Councilmember Cleland Hoff was the only “no” vote.
“I am very much for giving assistance to people, but what assistance are they giving to the town or county?” Councilmember Hoff said. “They are not following protocol right now. I have very little sympathy.”
Earlier in the meeting, Hoff expressed frustration that not enough people were wearing face coverings in public. Mammoth Hospital Chief Medical Officer Dr. Craig Burrows countered Hoff’s assessment, saying that he thought most residents were generally doing a great job of complying with face covering recommendations.
The discussion quickly became heated and eventually ended with Councilmember Hoff swearing at Dr. Burrows as he was signing off from the meeting. She has not yet respond to a request for clarification on what seems to be misguided retaliation.
Even with Hoff’s no-vote, the rest of the Council was in support of assisting Mammoth residents with rent. Patricia Robertson, the executive director of from Mammoth Lakes Housing, also expressed support for the program and noted that the organization was receiving donations from the community for additional assistance.
“I am very much in support of this, Mayor Pro Tem Lynda Salcido said. “The rule of elected officials is to represent all of our constituents especially and particularly people who are struggling badly — this is the right thing for us to do.”
Eligibility requirements for rental assistance include: job loss, furlough, or reduction in hours and pay, business closure, or the need to miss work to care for child or elderly person. Grant applications will be calculated based on what tenants estimate they can pay and capped at 30% of monthly rent or $500. Rental assistance will be paid directly to the landlord.
The $200,000 will be allocated from $1 million previously set aside by the Council for emergency housing assistance and may be increased if more funding becomes available from other sources.
Update April 27: The Town’s rental assistance program is just for tenants within Mammoth Lakes. However, according Patricia Robertson, the executive director of from Mammoth Lakes Housing, there are other funding sources that could help those living in other parts of Mono County.
People in the community are currently donating some or all of their federal econmoic impact checks for rental assistance. As of Wednesday’s special Town meeting, MLH had received more than $7,000 in donations and pledges. First 5 Mono also contributed $10,000 from the organization’s emergency fund.
Everyone in Mono County that needs rentals assistance should apply using the Town application, and MLH will determine their eligibility for different pots of funds during the process, Robertson said.
Application materials are currently being finalized with the Town and will be available (hopefully) soon. Mammoth Lakes Housing will be managing the program. When ready, application materials will be posted online and paper copies will be available outside MLH’s office door.
Update April 30: Applications for rental assistance are now open online. Tenants can pick up a hard copy application outside of our the MLH office at 587 Old Mammoth Road, #4 (near Thai’d Up). Completed hard copies can be dropped into the secure dropbox outside the door. More information can be found on the Mammoth Lakes Housing website.
Mono County Property Taxes, Cannabis Delivery, and an All-Mail November Ballot
According to Mono County Finance Director Janet Dutcher, the county has received 97% of property tax payments year-to-date, which is slightly higher than last year at this time, so “we are on target” she said. The department received just five tax payment waivers related to COVID-19.
Earlier this week, the Mono County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to allow temporary cannabis delivery in unincorporated Mono County. Retailers do not have a long-term right to deliver cannabis past the state’s shelter-in-place orders, Assistant County Counsel Christy Milovich said.
The Board also moved to support an all-mail ballot for the upcoming November election. According to Shannon Kendall, the Mono County Registrar of Voters, the county already has 75% permanent vote-by-mail voters. The cost of the election will increase, she said, because the county will have to provide ballots and postage to all voters.
“We feel this is the safest not only for the poll workers but also the voters, going forward,” Kendall said.
Limited in-person voting will still be available at the county office for questions, and issuing second ballots if necessary.
All-mail ballots are likely to become normal for the state, even after the virus is contained, California Secretary of State Alex Padilla told the LA Times. Gov. Newsom hasn’t yet made a state-wide changes for November , but June special elections in other regions are currently all-mail ballots, and Padilla says he’s pushing for it in November, too.
Financial relief is on the way for Californians
More than 4.4 million Americans applied for unemployment last week and economists predict that the April unemployment rate could reach 20% nationwide, according to LA Times reporting.
California’s Employment Development Department continues to see historic numbers of applications. Nearly two million Californians applied for benefits in the first two weeks of April. An estimated $3 billion of UI claims will be dispersed this week.
Yesterday the EDD announced that it is no longer requiring claimants to re-certify benefits every two weeks in an effort to alleviate human resources to process new claims. Some Mono County residents have expressed frustration that even after going through the eligibility process and receiving initial payments, that subsequent payments are late and now backlogged.
“These are extraordinary times calling for extraordinary measures and it is our job to do everything we can to get these critical benefits into the hands of Californians,” California Labor Secretary Julie Su said.
The change does not eliminate the initial eligibility review for new claimants. Once qualified, people will continue to receive benefits automatically. Claimants are still required to report any information to the EDD if they return to work.
The extra $600 in federal payments is now automatically added to weekly benefits and will be paid through the end of July.
Applications for the state’s Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program will open on April 28, Su said. The new program will apply to those who are self-employed, independent contractors, employees whose wage data or work history is not sufficient to qualify for unemployment insurance, and to others who have exhausted their unemployment insurance benefits.
Mono County residents have started to receive their $1,200 federal economic impact payment, while many others have not. There are plenty of conflicting reports on how funds are being paid and the IRS has a website to track the status of payment, but even that does not seem to work for everyone. Update: those who were getting errors on the IRS site are now saying they are able to input bank information.
Yesterday, Governor Newsom signed an executive order stopping debt collectors from garnishing CARES Act payments.
“Given the nature of this emergency and crisis for individuals and families, now is not the time to garnish those emergency contribution checks,” Gov. Newsom said.
Funding programs for self-employed workers and small businesses also seem to be overwhelmed. The Mono County economic development department is available to assist residents with the SBA and other business loan applications.
Additionally, the state is allocating $50 million to the California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank for loans to small businesses to help individuals who do not qualify for federal funds, including low wealth and undocumented immigrant communities.
To date, 73% of micro loans paid out have been distributed to women and minority-owned businesses, the governor said.
Last week Governor Newsom announced paid sick leave for food service workers including those and financial relief for undocumented workers. California’s $75 million Disaster Relief Fund will support undocumented residents who are impacted by COVID-19 and ineligible for unemployment insurance benefits due to their immigration status.
“We feel a deep sense of gratitude for people that are in fear of deportation but are still addressing the essential needs of tens of millions of Californians,” Gov. Newsom said. “I’m proud as governor to be the first state to announce a program for direct disaster assistance to those individuals.”
But now, according to LA times reporting, a conservative group is suing Gov. Newsom to block aid to undocumented workers.
Under the proposed Disaster Relief Fund, 150,000 undocumented workers will receive a one-time cash benefit of $500 per adult with a cap of $1,000 per household. Individuals can apply for support beginning next month.
The Department of Social Services will select immigrant-serving community-based nonprofit organizations to conduct targeted outreach, application assistance, and delivery of the disaster relief assistance to eligible individuals.
Watch: Governor Newsom outlined new programs designed to help small businesses during the COVID-19 crisis via the Sacramento Bee.
Governor Newsom outlines help available for small businesses during coronavirus pandemic
California Governor Gavin Newsom outlined new programs designed to help small businesses during the COVID-19 crisis at…www.modbee.com
Monica Prelle is a Mammoth Lakes-based independent journalist. Subscribe to get a free weekly email round-up of the latest Mono County news directly in your inbox. Follow on Facebook for daily updates directly in your feed.