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the approved $250,000 for each of the grant programs to provide funding for more than <br /> the anticipated number of applications. <br /> FINANCIAL STATEMENT <br /> There are no fiscal expenditures related to termination of the local emergency due to <br /> the COVID-19 pandemic. With the end of the local emergency, repayment of any unpaid <br /> Business Support Fund loans will be initiated, with the first payment due on April 1, <br /> 2023. <br /> BACKGROUND <br /> On March 23, 2020, the City Council approved a resolution ratifying a Proclamation of <br /> the Existence of a Local Emergency due to the COVID-19 pandemic, following a <br /> declaration of emergency in the State of California on March 4, 2020. <br /> As a result of the immediate restrictions the public health emergency necessitated, <br /> many Pleasanton businesses — and by extension, their employees — faced significant <br /> challenges, including little to no revenue. On April 15, 2020, the City Council approved a <br /> program to assist businesses and residents due to loss of income, comprised of four <br /> key program elements: Transient Occupancy Tax Penalties Waiver, City Utilities <br /> Penalties Waiver and Deposit Deferral, a Business Support Fund, and Communication <br /> and Promotion. Since that time, the City has been implementing this and related <br /> programs to support Pleasanton businesses individually, and the local economy more <br /> broadly, over the past three years. With the widespread availability of vaccinations that <br /> has served to significantly decrease COVID case rates, all county and state restrictions <br /> have been removed such that businesses have returned to full operations. <br /> To inform the City Council's termination of the local emergency, the following overview <br /> serves as a recap of the Business Assistance Program, in addition to other actions, <br /> activities, and programs the City engaged in to support the community during the <br /> pandemic. <br /> Business Assistance Program <br /> Transient Occupancy Tax Penalties Waiver <br /> Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) quarterly payments were due on March 31, 2020, for <br /> the January-February-March quarter, and June 30, 2020, for the April-May-June quarter <br /> respectively. To allow the hotels to utilize the collected funds for near-term operating <br /> costs and employee retention due to loss of revenues, this program element suspended <br /> fines, penalties and interest for TOT payments as imposed by the Pleasanton Municipal <br /> Code. Both quarterly payments were due in full to the City on July 31, 2020. Four <br /> Pleasanton hotels provided a written request for the waiver to the Director of Finance; <br /> these waivers were granted and all TOT payments were subsequently remitted in full to <br /> the City. <br /> City Utilities Penalties and Deposit Deferral <br /> To provide relief for residential and businesses customers during the local emergency, <br /> the City Manager issued Resolution 20-1143 which ratified the waiver of fines and <br /> penalties on existing accounts and deferred new City utility account deposits. New <br /> Page 2 of 6 <br />