On Tuesday, May 26, the County Council had a long discussion about what to do with the $943,250 Federal CARES Act funding they received. It seems they have already spent $147,000 although there has been confusion over who authorized the spending. In addition, the Council discussed taking a minimum of an additional $650,000 to help the county address their budget deficit. This means the County Council will allocate a minimum of $797,000 to the county budget while the rest of our community, who are also greatly suffering, will receive a bit more than 15% of the federal CARES relief fund that is supposed to help them.
While what the County Council is doing is not illegal, it flies in the face of the CARES Act intent. The US Department of Treasury says, “The CARES Act provides fast and direct economic assistance for American workers, families, and small businesses and preserve jobs for our American industries.”
Many of our workers, families, small businesses, non-profit organizations and the hundreds of jobs that they represent will receive almost no relief if the County Council does not dramatically adjust its initial view on how the CARES money should be spent. This money was intended to do much more than support our local government. The Council should work towards a more equitable distribution of this money that recognizes that we are all in this crisis together.
Our schools, resorts, restaurants and most small businesses have been closed for months and hundreds of islanders have entirely lost their income. The nation’s unemployment rate has reached the highest levels since the Great Depression. The unemployment rate in San Juan County is now at 27%—nearly twice the national level.
The Community Emergency Response Fund was established by the Orcas Island Community Foundation. It has put over $640,000 in grants to work to make sure every islander has food, a safe home and so that some of our businesses and farmers have the resources they needed until government assistance could start flowing. This was done through the generosity of hundreds of wonderful donors. Without them, the damage done would have been far greater. Donors have limits though, and we are seeing those limits being reached. Private donations were meant to be a stop-gap until the county could step up when they received the CARES Act funding.
A county plan that would take the majority of the CARES money for the county’s budget would leave the rest of our community to now fight for themselves—to fight for the scraps that the county is leaving behind. For this, my heart is breaking.
Imagine what the county could have done with $1,000,000 going out to the community? Imagine how many local businesses would have benefited from this significant support instead of what may be available now? Imagine if our food banks, resource centers and affordable housing had the support they needed to continue to meet the needs of our most vulnerable? Imagine if our county prioritized the local economy?
It is my sincere hope that the County Council will revisit their decision and distribute the CARES Act funding in a more fair and equitable way—with the majority of the funds directly supporting economic recovery and resiliency allowing us to not just survive this crisis but thrive.
We the People deserve better!
Ed Andrews
Orcas Island
