Agenda - Council - 09/13/2022 - Laserfiche WebLink

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impacted industries for COVID-19 public health measures should review the section Assistance to Businesses to Implement COVID-19 Strategies in Public Health, which describes types of eligible uses of funds in this category. To address the identified harms, responses (e.g., aid through a grant program) should be generally broadly available to all businesses within the impacted industry to avoid the risk of self -dealing, preferential treatment, and conflicts of interest.240 Treasury encourages recipients to design aid programs such that funds are first used for operational expenses that are generally recognized as ordinary and necessary for the recipient's operation, such as payroll, before being used on other types of costs. As noted in the section General Standards: Structure and Standards, uses of funds that do not respond to the negative economic impacts of the pandemic, such as excessive compensation to employees, is ineligible. The final rule maintains the interim final rule's requirement that aid may only be considered responsive to the negative economic impacts of the pandemic if it supports businesses, attractions, and Tribal development districts operating prior to the pandemic and affected by required closures and other efforts to contain the pandemic. Further, to facilitate transparency and accountability, the final rule maintains the interim final rule's requirement that recipients publicly report assistance provided to private -sector businesses under this eligible use, including tourism, travel, hospitality, and other impacted industries, and its connection to negative economic impacts of the public health emergency. Recipients also should maintain 240 As part of accepting the Award Terms and Conditions for SLFRF, each recipient agreed to maintain a conflict -of - interest policy consistent with 2 C.F.R. § 200.318(c) that is applicable to all activities funded with the SLFRF award. Pursuant to this policy, decisions concerning SLFRF must be free of undisclosed personal or organizational conflicts of interest, both in fact and in appearance. Recipients may avoid conflicts of interest in awarding aid to impacted industries by, inter alia, making aid available to businesses in the industry on generally applicable terms or utilizing a competitive grant process. A recipient may not use control over SLFRF for their own private gain. Furthermore, no employee, officer, or agent may participate in the selection, award, or administration of a contract supported by a federal award if he or she has a real or apparent conflict of interest. 169