Reports

We reviewed the allocation process and monitoring of emergency COVID-related service grants the City has made using funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the State of California. This preliminary review, the third in a series on emergency expenses,1 aims to support cost recovery oversight, including compliance with federal and state record-keeping, procurement, and audit requirements, as outlined in the Recovery Annex of the City’s Emergency Operations Plan.

We recommend that the City Council accept the City Auditor’s preliminary review of documentation for COVID-19 related costs to support receipt of emergency public assistance through the federal Coronavirus Relief Fund (CRF).

We recommend that the City Council accept the City Auditor’s interim report on the status of internal controls for documenting COVID-19 related costs to support receipt of emergency public assistance grants through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

This special report provides information to assist Berkeley’s leaders in navigating the financial challenges ahead. We conducted interviews and reviewed data from government finance and budget officials to compile information on estimates of how the COVID-19 pandemic will affect the local economy and Berkeley’s revenues and expenditures; and considerations from government finance and budget officials for the City Manager and Council to inform decisions about how to manage resources as revenues decline and expenditures increase.