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

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Treasury Response: In the final rule, Treasury is clarifying that recipients will be permitted to fund the full payroll and covered benefits of public health and safety staff primarily dedicated to COVID-19 response throughout the period of performance for the SLFRF program, though recipients should periodically reassess their determination of primarily dedicated staff, including as the public health emergency and response evolves. Government Employment and Rehiring Public Sector Staff The interim final rule permitted use of funds for costs associated with rehiring state, local, and Tribal government staff in order to bolster the government's ability to effectively administer services. Specifically, recipients may pay for payroll, covered benefits, and other costs associated with the recipient increasing the number of its employees up to the pre - pandemic baseline, or the number of employees that the recipient government employed on January 27, 2020. Public Comment: Many commenters requested greater flexibility and additional clarification on the provision's requirements, including the pre -pandemic baseline and re -hiring process. Some commenters requested that the final rule allow for hiring above the pre -pandemic baseline given historic underinvestment in the public sector workforce. Commenters suggested a number of adjustments to the pre -pandemic baseline, including adjusting based on population or revenue growth, while some recommended allowing recipients to set their own hiring levels. Others requested clarification on the definition of the baseline and the re -hiring process, including whether the pre -pandemic baseline referred to budgeted or filled positions and whether new hires had to fill the same roles as the previous hires. Commenters also asked whether recipients need to show if the reduction in number of employees was due to the pandemic in 178