Drafter
03/30/2020
Title
AN ORDINANCE related to the COVID-19; amending the 2019-2020 Biennial Budget Ordinance, Ordinance 18835, as amended by Ordinance 19022, Section 1; and declaring an emergency.
Body
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF KING COUNTY:
SECTION 1. Findings:
A. Coronavirus disease 2019 ("COVID-19") is a novel coronavirus disease classified by the World Health Organization as a pandemic that spreads easily from person to person and may result in serious illness or death.
B. COVID-19 virus is affecting King County residents; as of March 29, 2020, 2,159 King County residents have tested positive for the virus and 141 residents have died from the virus.
C. The Governor of Washington state declared a state of emergency in Washington state in response to the cases of COVID-19 on February 29, 2020. On March 13, 2020, the Governor issued a proclamation closing all K-12 public and private schools statewide.
D. The King County executive issued a Proclamation of Emergency in response to COVID-19 on March 1, 2020, and subsequently On March 3, 2020, the council passed Motion 15610 affirming the executive's proclamation of emergency.
E. First responders and essential workers as defined by the Governor of Washington state's Proclamation Amending Proclamation 20-05 ("Stay Home - Stay Healthy")'s appendix entitled "Essential Critical Infrastructure Workers," who serve on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic response to provide support and critical services for the public and those who are sick. Those first responders and essential workers are a particularly vulnerable population to COVID-19 while carrying out their duties.
F. First responders and essential workers with children need child care while they are working on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic. Without child care, vital first responders and other essential workers cannot fulfill their duties and functions serving the public.
G. It is necessary to ensure that child care is available for first responders and other essential workers during this pandemic, as all schools in Washington are closed and many child care providers have ceased providing child care services or are on the verge of closing, resulting in fewer care and educational options for families.
H. It is further necessary to ensure that such child care services are provided in an environment that leads to improvements in early learning and educational outcomes for children of first responders and other essential workers as contemplated by RCW 43.79.520.
I. Release of some restricted appropriation is needed to provide child care services for first responders and other essential workers responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.
J. The city of Seattle is funding emergency child care services for first responders and essential workers who live in the city of Seattle, significantly expanding the estimated number of child care services available. Therefore, it is the intent of the council that the appropriation be prioritized for child care providers outside the city of Seattle, which serve first responders and essential workers who live or work, or both, in the county outside of the city of Seattle.
K. The department of community and human services will ensure that disbursement of appropriated resources follows the intent of the council as expressed in this ordinance.
L. Without such care of the children of first responders and essential workers, it is expected that the ranks of such employees will shrink and thereby impair the county's response to COVID-19 and put more of the public at risk.
M. Childcare for first responders and other essential workers during the state of emergency is a necessary expenditure incurred due to the COVID-19 public health emergency. It was not accounted for in the state or county budget most recently approved and the cost of which will be incurred by the county before December 30, 2020.
SECTION 2. Ordinance 19022, Section 1, is hereby amended as follows:
KING COUNTY PUGET SOUND TAXPAYER ACCOUNTABILITY ACCOUNT - From the King County Puget Sound Taxpayer Accountability Account fund there is hereby disappropriated from:
King County Puget Sound Taxpayer Accountability Account ($6,666,000)
SECTION 3. The council directs that section 2 of this ordinance takes effect before section 4 of this ordinance.
SECTION 4. Ordinance 19022, Section 1, is hereby amended as follows:
KING COUNTY PUGET SOUND TAXPAYER ACCOUNTABILITY ACCOUNT - From the King County Puget Sound Taxpayer Accountability Account fund there is hereby appropriated to:
King County Puget Sound Taxpayer Accountability Account $6,666,000 ER1 EXPENDITURE RESTRICTION:
Of this appropriation, $250,000 shall be expended or encumbered solely for 1.0 FTE position to support community engagement for and preparation of the implementation plan as required by proviso P1 in this section.
ER2 EXPENDITURE RESTRICTION:
Of this appropriation, $2,200,000 shall be expended or encumbered solely to support child care services that provide educational services to improve the educational outcomes for children of first responders and other essential workers as defined by the Governor of Washington state's Proclamation Amending Proclamation 20-05 ("Stay Home - Stay Healthy")'s appendix entitled "Essential Critical Infrastructure Workers" during the COVID-19 emergency.
P1 PROVIDED THAT:
Of this appropriation, (($6,666,000)) $4,466,000 may not be expended or encumbered until the executive transmits: 1) the implementation plan requested by Motion 15492 that identifies strategies to be funded and outcomes to be achieved with King County Puget Sound Taxpayer Accountability Account proceeds; provided, however, the transmittal date set forth by Motion 15492 for the implementation plan is superseded by this proviso; and 2) a motion that should approve an implementation plan and reference the subject matter, the proviso's ordinance, ordinance section and proviso number in both the title and body of the motion, and a motion approving the implementation plan is passed by the council.
The executive must file the implementation plan and motion required by this proviso by December 1, 2020, in the form of a paper original and an electronic copy with the clerk of the council, who shall retain the original and provide an electronic copy to all councilmembers, the council chief of staff and the lead staff for budget and fiscal management committee, or its successor.
SECTION 5. The county council finds as a fact and declares that an emergency exists and that this ordinance is necessary for the immediate preservation of public peace,
health or safety or for the support of county government and its existing public institutions.