April 21, 2020 - League of Wisconsin Municipalities - COVID-19 Update #29
COVID-19 Coronavirus Update
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League COVID-19 Virtual Roundtable Conference Calls
This call is for City/Village Officials,
including mgrs./adm. & Staff Only

Tuesday, April 21 - 4:00-5:00 p.m.
DHSWI Secretary Designee Andrea Palm to join us (invited)

Join Zoom Meeting

Or Dial 312 626 6799

Meeting ID: 943 2945 2289
Password: 990365

Friday, April 24 - 9:00-10 a.m.

Join Zoom Meeting

Or Dial 312 626 6799

Meeting ID: 919 6078 3036
Password: 990365

If you aren't able to connect or have a question after participating, please contact Jerry Deschane at email .

We will schedule additional calls as needed. Notice and call-in information will be provided on the League's website and in these Special Edition newsletters, which will also be sent as needed.
NEW & Corrected - Reducing Alcohol Beverage Licensing Fees in Response to COVID-19 Pandemic
By the League of Wisconsin Municipalities
April 21, 2020

The League of Wisconsin Municipalities has received many questions relating to whether municipalities may reduce alcohol beverage licensing fees for the upcoming 2020 licensing renewal period or take other steps to help restaurants and bars hurt by the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting “Safer-at-Home” order. Read the corrected memo... (there was a typo that has been corrected.)

Reminder - State Emergency Order #28 - Extending the Safer At Home Order   and   FAQs Issued on April 16, 2020

The FAQs include a grid regarding Business Requirements that you will likely find very helpful. As examples, it includes information on farmer's markets, golf courses, food trucks and rummage sales.
REMINDER - IMPORTANT CALL TO ACTION!!
Contact Your Congressional Delegation!

See the details in the Capitol Buzz that Curt Witynski, the League's Deputy Director sent yesterday, April 19. They include talking points and this call to action:

Action Step: Please contact our Congressional Delegation via email or phone call as soon as possible and urge them to support  including direct aid to local governments in the 3.5 Stimulus package, which may be voted on early this week.  
NEW - Invitation from the White House
"On Wednesday, April 22, at 10:30 AM CST , please join Senior Administration Officials for a briefing call on COVID-19 (coronavirus). We will be joined by Senior Administration Officials from the White House, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S. Department of the Treasury, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and U.S. Department of Homeland Security, among others. Registration instructions are below. We ask that you
 
Date: Wednesday, April 22
Time: 10:30 AM CST
Call-In Registration : CLICK HERE
  • Call-in lines are limited. RSVP’s will be allocated in the order they are received. Please register only if you are able to join the call."
White House/CDC Coronavrius Task Force Guidelines for Opening Up America Again can be found here .
Reminder - Quick Two-Question League Survey - What is keeping you up at night?

As part of the League's mandate to be that place where you and your peers can discuss and prepare for the future, the League is collecting information from its members about the medium-term future for local governments. We have a simple, two question survey where we ask you to tell us what you see as the next great challenge for your community.

We want to hear from chief executives, administrators, clerks, and finance officers - it's ok to have more than one person respond from each municipality - you don't need to coordinate your responses . We’re not asking for statistics or hard data. We hope you will take a few brief moments to fill out and respond to this survey >> https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/KCGVZB6
PLEASE NOTE
Upcoming League Conferences and Workshops
Our priority is your safety and well-being. Decisions on whether to hold, cancel or postpone League events will be made with that priority as our number-one concern. 

League's Local Gov 101 Workshops - three programs were scheduled for May and one for June 5th.  All four Local Gov 101 programs will be provided as webinars. Please watch our newsletters and website for details.

League's Clerks, Treasurers and Finance Officers - CANCELLED! Please mark your calendar for June 9-11, 2021 (yes, that is next year !) at the Tundra Lodge in Green Bay.  

Decisions about the other upcoming programs, including the Municipal Attorneys Institute, will also be made with health and safety in mind. We will provide notice in our newsletters and on our website regarding those and future workshops. Details on cancellation policies and more... 
Reminder - The Five Things We Need for a Smart Re-Start

This graph was presented by Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW) President and Chief Executive Officer Dr. John Raymond, Sr. in an April 15 presentation.

Public Health experts, including experts advising the federal effort, echo Dr. Raymond's list.

Click here to share this from the League's Facebook page to your own. This will also be posted to the League's website along with the full slide deck.
REMINDER - Pass this along: The Save Small Business Fund is a grantmaking initiative offering short-term relief for small employers in the United States and its territories. This is an initiative of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation.

A short application is live here https://savesmallbusiness.com/

To apply, you must run a small business or chamber of commerce with between 3-20 employees (including yourself and not including independent contractors). The business must be located in an economically vulnerable community. This is defined as the bottom 80% of the most economically distressed zip codes in the United States, as ranked by the Distressed Communities Index. Before starting the application, you will be asked for the zip code where you are registered by the IRS as doing business, which will confirm your eligibility.

Thanks to Andrew Nussbaum, WI Dept of Tourism for the information.
POLICY ISSUES
Elections
Reminder - Notice and Certificates of Election, Oaths, and New Terms
 
Read Claire Silverman’s memo detailing the notice and certificates of election requirements, oaths and new terms here
Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
From the League's past COVID-19 Newsletters have been updated and c an be accessed here .
Federal
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
Information on State and Federal Assistance including FEMA is on the League's COVID-19 website here .
Reminder - Tracking Expenses - Helpful Guidance and Templates

Grants Portal Account and Request for Public Assistance FEMA



Note: FEMA assistance will be provided at a 75% Federal cost share.


Spreadsheet Templates are available on our website here .

Thanks to Sharon Eveland, Clintonville and Kevin Lahner, Waukesha for providing these resources!
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA)
Information on the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) is on the League's website on the Employees page here.
Coronavirus Aid, Relief, & Economic Security
(CARES) Act
Reminder - COVID-19 Update: A Deeper Dive – Community Development Block Grants Under CARES - Husch Blackwell Strategies - April 7, 2020

House Democratic Leaders have begun to brief the Democratic Caucus on the outline of the next phase of COVID-19 Response legislation and it appears that the next stimulus package will focus on replenishing funds for programs established in Congress’s $2.2 trillion virus relief bill signed into law last month but the Speaker also noted that the next stimulus bill should assist state and local governments, with an emphasis on smaller municipalities with fewer than 500,000 residents. 

The CARES Act did include $150 billion in relief resources for states and in today’s “Deeper Dive” we focus on how Community Development Block Grants under the CARES Act can be leveraged by state and local governments to address the COVID-19 crisis.

Read the full breakdown of the new updates and deep-dive analysis here .
Reminder - COVID-19 Emergency Declaration – Applying for Public Assistance
On March 13, 2020, President Trump declared the ongoing Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic of sufficient severity and magnitude to warrant an emergency declaration for all states, tribes, territories, and the District of Columbia.
  • State and local governments are eligible to apply for Public Assistance. 
  • Eligible emergency protective measures taken to respond to the COVID-19 emergency at the direction or guidance of public health officials’ may be reimbursed under Category B of the agency’s Public Assistance program. FACT SHEET on ELIGIBLE EXPENSES
  • FEMA assistance will be provided at the 75 percent Federal cost share
  • Local governments and other eligible public assistance applicants will apply through their respective state. In Wisconsin contact Eric Learn, the State Public Assistance Officer at WEM, 608-242-3200, for more information.
  • The application deadline for the COVID- 19 disaster public assistance has been indefinitely extended by FEMA. FEMA waived the ordinary 30 day application deadline that would have otherwise closed on April 12. 
If you don't find what you need or if you have resources to contribute,
please email Jerry Deschane.
The Wisconsin Policy Forum
"As the only local governments in Wisconsin that receive significant sales tax revenues, counties will see a significant blow from the current crisis, particularly in regions that rely on tourists and other visitors. Other key revenue streams also will take a hit, including collections from charges for services, and a likely rise in delinquent property tax payments also may create fiscal challenges.  Continue reading.. ."

Take this POLCO Survey and Pass it along!

"Given the gravity and complexity of the current COVID-19 public health and economic crisis, we are taking steps to bring resident voices to even more local decision-makers.

Polco and National Research Center (NRC) are measuring the impact of COVID-19 on people and communities nationwide. We hope you will take a few moments to share your experience by completing this short survey.

Your input can help guide actions for communities across the country.
Survey results will be shared with official government organizations to help them understand impacts on residents and help communities respond to the crisis and plan for recovery. Your responses are confidential and private. Polco/NRC does not report any individually identifying information. This information is solely for aggregate demographic analyses.

Thank you for taking this survey. Responses received by April 17 will be included in our report. We appreciate and value your voice on this issue." 
Communications
WE CAN GO THE DISTANCE TOGETHER: 10 WAYS YOU CAN DO YOUR PART
The University of Wisconsin-Madison Communication Collaborative for COVID-19 Response has developed 10 essential steps to limit the spread of COVID-19. They reflect the overall need for maintaining a physical distance from each other, washing you hands and staying home: Read the article...
How to join the Wisconsin Historical Society COVID-19 Journal Project
The Wisconsin Historical Society is inviting state residents and those with a connection to the state to keep 30-, 60-, or 90-day journals in whatever format works best for the author. They can be written, recorded as audio or video, photographed or expressed through artwork.

Journals will be collected and become part of the society's permanent archives as it strives to document the COVID-19 pandemic. To take part, go to https://wisconsinhistory.org/records/Article/CS16333

Journaling through the COVID-19 pandemic to record history
The project is modeled after a similar initiative during the Civil War when some Wisconsin troops were issued journals and asked to document their war-time experience. Some of those journals are now part of the vast archives at the society, which was founded in 1846 in Madison. Read the story...

Please consider sharing Facebook posts from the Wisconsin Dept. of Health Services Facebook page to your own Facebook page. Scroll down their page to see what they've posted.

Copy and paste this explanation of #SaferAtHome into your posts:

To slow the spread, limit close interaction to the same 5 people TOTAL, NOT different small groups."  #SaferAtHome
Webinars and Training
Listening sessions with Arts Wisconsin and Wisconsin Arts Board
Tuesday, April 21, 7-8 pm
Arts Wisconsin and the Wisconsin Arts Board host Zoom listening sessions with Wisconsin’s creative sector each Friday at 9 am as the COVID-19 crisis continues, to share perspectives on the impact of the pandemic on work and life, and brainstorm recommendations on actions to take locally and globally. In addition, we’re starting an evening session, to be held every two weeks, to expand participation in the conversation.  
 
To participate in all sessions: 

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Local Government Essentials
Programs brought to you by the Local Government Center at UW-Madison Extension

Alcohol Beverage Regulation and Licensing – Part 1
Wednesday, May 20, 2020, 1:00-3:00 p.m.
Under state law, Wisconsin municipalities issue and renew alcohol licenses. New municipal clerks and others looking for a refresher on the basics of alcohol licensing will benefit most from this session. Learn about the different types of licenses, license qualifications, notice requirements, and other statutory requirements as your municipality prepares for the upcoming license renewal period.
Presented by Attorney Carol Nawrocki of the Wisconsin Towns Association and Attorney Claire Silverman of the League of Wisconsin Municipalities.

Alcohol Beverage Regulation and Licensing – Part 2
Wednesday, June 3, 2020, 1:00-2:00 p.m.
Part 2 is intended for both new and continuing officials who want to stay up-to-date with recent changes in the law, current issues, and Wisconsin Department of Revenue resources related to alcohol licensing. In addition to providing these updates, Mr. Quam will be available to answer any questions you submit ahead of time, and if time, those questions posed during the presentation. To submit questions, please email them by Wednesday, May 1, 2020 to  lgc@extension.wisc.edu .
Presented by Tyler Quam Special Agent-in-Charge at Wisconsin Department of Revenue, Alcohol and Tobacco Enforcement Unit.
General Resources
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH SERVICES
COVID-19 is a virus that has not previously infected humans and information about its rate of spread and its effects is still largely unknown, which makes it incredibly important to be highly cautious in dealing with the current situation. 

LATEST UPDATES
The Wisconsin Department of Health Services will continue to provide the most up-to-date information regarding COVID-19. You are encouraged to monitor the site for updated guidance as the situation continues to evolve.


Want to share relevant and credible information to your Social Media?

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) on Facebook & on Twitter (Scroll down to see more recent posts.)

The Wisconsin Dept of Health Services (DHS) on Facebook & on Twitter.

And the League's social media: