The City of Kenai applied for grants through CARES Act funding to cover the costs of COVID-19 overtime-related expenses for police, fire, and dispatch departments. The Kenai City Council will look at an ordinance to appropriate those funds at their meeting on Wednesday.
In a memo to the council from Kenai Police Chief Dave Ross, the primary driver of the overtime expenses was shift adjustments that minimized staff exposure to one another, but also due to some staff being quarantined or being unable to return to work due to COVID-19.
The city requested and was granted $49,442 in overtime cost reimbursement and $819.90 in other miscellaneous expense reimbursement, all related to the police, fire, and dispatch departments. This covers those costs for the time period of March 16 – May 17. The State of Alaska Department of Public Safety was awarded a federal grant to assist with the strain that COVID-19 put on public health officials in Alaska communities.
Under the grant, DPS has made CARES grant funds available to local public safety agencies. The city’s Emergency Services department also incurred some expenses directly related to COVID-19 for supplies, online meeting software, and public relations signs.
The ordinance that will go before the Kenai City Council would appropriate $50,262 in CARES Act funding for Kenai Emergency Services departments. The meeting will take place Wednesday, July 1, at 6 p.m.