■ MAYORS: Local governments across the country, including Mayor Buddy Dyer, have signed onto a letter asking Congress for $250B to cover added costs to combat virus spread.
City mayors from across the country — including Orlando’s Buddy Dyer — are seeking a quarter-of-atrillion dollars in federal support to help American cities cover costs associated with the novel coronavirus, according to a letter by the U.S. Conference of Mayors.
The letter calls on Congress to allocate $250 billion to aide cities in paying for a slew of potential costs including overtime and sick time for employees, purchasing safety equipment for those possibly exposed to the virus, offering cash assistance to struggling small businesses and funding workforce development programs to help put people back to work.
As more cities and states are turning to shelter-inplace orders to prevent the spread of COVID-19 the money could be spent on preventing homelessness or housing instability for residents. It could also buoy struggling transit systems and airports.
Separately, the Orlando
International Airport is one of a group of airports seeking $10 billion in government aid to help offset losses tied to declining visitors.
“Reliable economic forecasters are reporting that the nation will experience economic contraction during 2020, with income and consumer sales down significantly in real terms,” the mayors’ letter reads. “This means that cities will suffer significant revenue loss at the same time their expenditures are increasing in response to the crisis — clearly an untenable situation. It is critical that we have the fiscal capacity to respond to the crisis now and preserve the integrity of our cities as a foundation for future recovery.”
Federal dollars are in high demand as government officials come to grips with the economic pitfalls tied to businesses closing and millions of Americans staying home. Congressional leaders Monday were trying to come to an agreement on a $2 trillion stimulus deal, while executives from hotel giants Hilton and Marriott met with President Donald Trump seeking a $250 billion tourism bailout.
The letter argues that distributing money to local officials will allow them to maintain public safety and utilities spending without having to slash services when people need them most.
Already in Central Florida, the region has lost hundreds of millions of dollars in economic impact due to canceled business conferences, nearly all of its major attractions have closed — including theme parks at Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando — and Gov. Ron DeSantis banned all in-person dining at restaurants.
In a region with the lowest wages of any of the top-50 metropolitan areas, Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings announced the opening of a rental assistance program to fill in gaps for some out-of-work residents before federal dollars arrive. Have a news tip? You can call Ryan at 407-420-5002, email him at rygillespie@ orlandosentinel.com, follow him on Twitter @byryangillespie and like his coverage on Facebook @byryangillespie.