DEPARTMENT: Economic Development
DEPARTMENT HEAD: Alejandra Lopez
COUNCIL DISTRICTS IMPACTED: Citywide
SUBJECT:
Briefing and possible action on the small business and workforce development strategies included in the COVID-19 Community Recovery and Resiliency Plan.
SUMMARY:
This item provides a briefing on the various strategies associated with small business support and workforce development included in the COVID-19 Community Recovery and Resiliency Plan presented to City Council on May 28, 2020.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
City Council was briefed on the proposed COVID-19 Community Recovery and Resiliency Plan on May 20, 2020. The guiding principles of this plan include:
• Public Health and Safety - Ensure continued COVID-19 related public health and safety while building resilience and fostering economic stability for households, nonprofits and businesses.
• Equity - Imbed equity in policy decisions and distribution of resources.
• Braided Funding - Appropriately integrate local, state and federal resources to achieve maximum impact.
• Community Resilience - Ensure households and businesses affected by COVID19 have the resources and tools to become financially resilient and better prepared to withstand future economic challenges.
The plan synthesizes themes and priorities from various City reports, including the Comprehensive Domestic Violence Prevention Plan, the Poverty Report, the Status of Women Report, the Homeless Strategic Plan, and the Mayor’s Housing Policy Framework, along with the reports from the Economic Transition Team and COVID-19 Community Action Working Group. The four pillars of the Community Recovery and Resiliency Plan are workforce development, small business support, housing stability, and digital inclusion.
Each pillar includes specific strategies based on various recommendations from the previously referenced reports and plans. The small business support strategies include virtual and place-based financial recovery and resiliency hubs, deploying outreach teams to conduct door-to-door engagement with hard-to-reach micro businesses, and financial support to micro businesses. The workforce development strategies include providing temporary childcare for working families, workforce training and support services with a focus on high demand jobs.
On May 28, 2020, Mayor and City Council received a detailed briefing to include the outcomes associated with each strategy, as well as recommended funding levels and potential funding sources for implementation. A total of $80 million was recommended to support workforce development strategies, the vast majority of which would be dedicated to workforce training. Services would include intake, assessment and referral, career navigation and wraparound support for participants. Training costs would be fully subsidized and participants would also receive a stipend while in training. A total of $33.1 million was recommended for small business support, focused primarily on grants to micro businesses, while also providing support for economic development partners and community development organizations to deploy door-to-door outreach teams and augment existing small business resource hubs.
ISSUE:
Staff will provide a briefing on the potential implementation plans associated with the various small business support and workforce development strategies included in the Community Recovery and Resiliency Plan.
ALTERNATIVES:
This item is for briefing purposes only.
FISCAL IMPACT:
This item is for briefing purposes only.
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff will present a briefing on this item, subject to possible action by the committee.