FOLEY – Local support agency representatives are working to set up a recovery group to deal with the major economic impact of COVID 19 on Baldwin County.
The plan would cost about $87,000 a year, Dana Jepsen, chair of Baldwin County Volunteer Organizations Active in Disaster told county commissioners. At the last county work session on June 15, Jepsen asked Baldwin County commissioners to supporting the group.
Commissioner said they realize help is needed, but with tax revenue down, they were not sure if they could take on an unbudgeted program. The proposal is scheduled for a vote at the July 7 commission meeting, Sherry-Lea Bloodworth Botop, county spokeswoman, said Tuesday.
Jepsen said that while Baldwin County has not had as many cases of COVID 19 as some areas, the virus has hit the local economy hard.
“Our county’s residents are suffering from high unemployment,” Jepsen said. “The Baldwin County Metropolitan Statistical Area was recently ranked as seventh most vulnerable in the US by the economic impact of COVID 19. Since March, we have seen 27 percent of Baldwin County’s workforce file for unemployment benefits. Our business community is suffering from decreased revenue and the strains of modifying their operations during the reopening process.”
In April, the count established the Baldwin Moving Forward countywide recovery group to work on ways to help deal with the effects of the coronavirus. Jepsen took part in the group’s study of the economic impact. She said local relief agencies have seen requests for help increase.
“Prodisee Pantry is a food pantry that serves all of Baldwin County,” she said. “At the time of their report, they had operated 11 mass emergency food distributions serving 430 tons of food to 6,654 families. Christian Service Center in Gulf Shores saw a 300-percent increase in their food requests in April.”
The recovery group recommended the creation of Baldwin Together, a COVID 19 long-term recovery.
“This will be a countywide framework to assist and support the residents of Baldwin County in recovery from the economic, sociological and emotional impact of COVID 19 pandemic. Our hope is that this will take some of the pressure off of the Baldwin County call center with a dedicated phone number for COVID calls,” Jepsen said.
Jepsen said VOAD and other agencies have created recovery groups at other times, such as after Hurricanes Ivan and Katrina.
“As has been said so many times over the last several months, this is a different type of disaster. Typically, events are localized. After a storm, flood or oil spill, there are other locations that are not impacted from which individuals or groups send funds,” Jepsen said. “But a global pandemic is different, there is no unimpacted location and funds are not available through conventional channels.”
She said the expenses would include $1,550 in start-up costs for computers and other equipment and then about $7,228 a month for salaries for two case managers and other expenses.
The county could get some costs back through the federal Coronavirus Aid, Recovery and Economic Security Act, commissioners said. CARES Act funding, however, is scheduled to expire at the end of 2020 and the recovery program could take two years.
Commissioners said they were concerned about committing the county to extra expenses, when revenue is already dropping.
“I want our budget director to tell me or our accountant that he’s comfortable spending $87,000 that’s not budgeted at all and without planning that we’re going to be getting money from somebody,” Commissioner Jeb Ball said. “Are we good to absorb another almost $90,000?”
Budget Director Ron Cink said the economic effects of the pandemic have hurt county revenue, but officials are not certain what the final total will be.
“COVID has definitely affected us through sales tax, lease tax and gas tax, big time,” Cink said. “Of course, that gas tax is restricted, but lease and sales tax has an impact on this year’s budget. We don’t know how we’re going to come recover. We were down almost 25 percent last month on sales tax and lease tax was a bad or worse.”
Ball said VOAD has done a good job with recovery in the past, but COVID 19 is something different for everyone.
“I’m not ever going to doubt that VOAD’s not a bad thing, but y’all have never handled this before, nobody has,” Ball said. “So, you’re coming to the commission for funding. I don’t know if we’ve got funding and we’re speculating that we’re going to get the CARES Act. That’s a speculation.”
Commissioners asked Jepsen to also seek funding from other sources and said they could consider tentatively funding a program until the end of 2020 when CARES Act funding is scheduled to expire.
