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PROPOSED RESOLUTION
CREATION OF THE DISASTER RESPONSE AND RECOVERY FUND
WHEREAS, proclamations of disaster may be declared by the Cook County Board President pursuant to 20 ILCS 3305, Section 11, and Section 26-36 of the Cook County Code of Ordinances, as well as by the Governor of Illinois pursuant to 20 ILCS 3305, Section 7, and the President of the United States pursuant to 42 U.S.C. Section 5170; and
WHEREAS, in the last three years Cook County has experienced unprecedented proclamations of disaster which have included disaster declarations at the County, State, and or Federal levels; and
WHEREAS, proclamations of disaster have been most recently declared for the Covid-19 Pandemic, various weather-related events including flooding and severe storms, and declarations related to the influx of new arrivals or asylum seekers; and
WHEREAS, since 2020, Cook County has received federal funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) due to declared disasters. During the COVID-19 pandemic, in addition to other federal funds, FEMA provided over $1.3 billion in Illinois through public assistance, which offers aid to local governments, with over $205 million for Cook County. For the Presidentially declared disaster due to severe flooding and storms on July 2, 2023, residents of Cook County received over $260 million in direct disaster assistance; and
WHEREAS, because FEMA public and individual assistance is not guaranteed in every disaster situation and, when approved, takes weeks and months to be distributed, an immediate disaster funding source is needed to effectively address disasters in Cook County; and
WHEREAS, while such proclamations of disaster may provide access to State and Federal financial assistance, in order to address such disaster proclamations within Cook County, Cook County and must be prepared operationally and financially for such emergency and disaster events to the ensure the public health, safety and welfare of current and future Cook County residents; and
WHEREAS, to protect the public health, safety and welfare of current and future Cook County residents, it is prudent for Cook County to ensure that financial resources are available to address local disaster events in a timely manner and to further this objective, Cook County desires to establish the Disaster Response and Recovery Fund and appropriate funds for FY24 and future years to address Cook County’s needs in response to proclamations of disaster; and
WHEREAS, the expenditure of said funds in the Disaster Response and Recovery Fund will be permissible upon the designation of a disaster proclamation at the County, State, and Federal level and approval of the Chief Financial Officer and the Executive Director of the Department of Emergency Management and Regional Security; and
WHEREAS, the funding of the Disaster Response and Recovery Fund will be subject to the annual appropriation process.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, by the Cook County Board of Commissioners, that a Disaster Response and Recovery Fund (the “Fund”) shall be created, and that the Department of Emergency Management and Regional Security shall manage the Fund in consultation with the Chief Financial Officer or designee; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, In FY 2024, the Disaster Response and Recovery Fund shall be funded with $100,000,000.00, of which $70,000,000.00 shall be allocated for new arrival health care costs above and beyond what is allocated in the FY 2024 Annual Appropriation Bill, $20,000,000.00 shall be allocated for municipal or local government costs related to disaster response and recovery, which may include support for new arrivals, and $10,000,000.00 shall be allocated for other Cook County disaster response and recovery events that may transpire in FY 2024. The allocations provided herein may be modified but any such modifications shall be subject to the approval of the Cook County Board of Commissioners; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, the expenditure of said funds in the Disaster Response and Recovery Fund will be permissible upon the designation of a disaster proclamation at the County, State, and Federal or Federal level and the use of available funds must also be approved by the Chief Financial Officer and the Executive Director of the Department of Emergency Management and Regional Security; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Department of Budget and Management Services shall work with the Chief Financial Officer, Executive Director of the Department of Emergency Management and Regional Security as well as various County departments and agencies to track the expenditures of funds from the Disaster Response and Recovery Fund; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that, as allowable, the Department of Emergency Management and Regional Security shall seek reimbursement from Federal or State government for expenses made from the Disaster Response and Recovery Fund and that such reimbursements shall be returned to the Disaster Response and Recovery Fund; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the President and the Cook County Board of Commissioners do hereby authorize the Chief Financial Officer to assign and transfer the General Fund’s fund balance for stabilization of the Disaster Response and Recovery Fund in an amount not to exceed $50,000,000.00 in any given year and future years, and such contribution will be based on an analysis of projected year-end the General Fund’s fund balance in accordance with Cook County’s Fund Balance Policy; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED ,that the Chief Financial Officer shall be authorized to make such transfers and/or assignments in the Disaster Response and Recovery Fund in FY 2024 as well as future years for stabilization if authorized in the Annual Budget Resolution and said appropriations will continue to be based on an analysis of projected year-end General Fund fund balance in accordance with Cook County’s Fund Balance Policy; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Department of Budget and Management Services shall work with the Chief Financial Officer, Executive Director of the Department of Emergency Management and Regional Security as well as various County departments and agencies to provide a quarterly written report to the Cook County Board of Commissioners upon the use of the Disaster Response and Recovery Funds.
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