Olympia City Council takes action on multiple fronts to provide financial relief

The City of Olympia began taking steps this week to prepare for financial hardships caused by the new coronavirus outbreak.

Members of the City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to approve ordinances authorizing a moratorium on utility shut-offs due to nonpayment and an appropriation of $550,000 from the Economic Development Reserve Program. All but $50,000 will fund projects recommended by a new task force, with the rest going to the relief fund set up by Thurston County United Way and the Community Foundation of South Puget Sound.

“I think this sends a strong message to the community that we know assistance and recovery dollars are going to be needed to help our businesses get back on their feet, healthy, so that people can return to their jobs,” said Interim City Manager Jay Burney.

An online form is available at https://engage.olympiawa.gov/covid-utility-arrangements for residents to self-certify their need to defer payment of utility fees without interest or penalty for up to 60 days.

The city also has delayed collection of two revenue streams in an effort to help local businesses stay afloat during the COVID-19 crisis.

Payment of the business and occupation tax normally due in April, as well as fees for operating in one of the three zones that encompass the Parking and Business Improvement Area, are now due by July 31.

It’s not yet clear how long the city can afford to sustain the utilities moratorium or to what extent it will be able to subsidize additional forms of relief in the coming months. The city finance committee will continue to consider different scenarios as the crisis unfolds and provide bi-weekly updates, according to Council member Jim Cooper, who sits on the committee.

“ I think it’s really important for everyone in the community to understand we have a pretty significant cash flow crisis looming, as a city,” Cooper said.

The regional task force that will oversee the $500,000 appropriated by Olympia will include representation and funding from government and economic entities from around Thurston County.

Burney singled out the Thurston Economic Development Council, the Olympia Downtown Association and the Thurston County Chamber of Commerce as potential partners.

The task force will work to distribute funding as needed across the county, using available data and information gathered from area businesses to inform their decisions, Burney said. It will also develop a process to help businesses apply for grants and other programs made available to them over the coming months.

“The intent here is to make our dollars go as far as we can by leveraging other resources that are available at the state and federal levels to make sure our business community takes advantage of every possible emergency funding program made available to them,” Burney said.

The City Council is not scheduled to meet again until mid-April, but could convene for an emergency session as circumstances dictate.

When the council does resume holding regular business meetings, it will likely be under the guise of social distancing measures such as closing council chambers to the public and eliminating in-person public comment periods.

Citizens may register public comments on meeting agendas at https://engage.olympiawa.gov/online-council-meetings. Submissions will be published on the website shortly before the council meeting.