Broward County Commission Regular Meeting
Director's Name: Chris Walton
Department: Transportation Division: Transit
Information
Requested Action
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MOTION TO ADOPT Resolution No. 2020-273 of the Board of County Commissioners of Broward County, Florida, authorizing the Director of the Transportation Department to sign and submit an application for federal assistance for Federal Fiscal Year 2020 with the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) pursuant to 49 U.S.C. Section 5307, for Coronavirus Aid Relief and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) Urbanized Area Formula Funds in the amount of $78,034,438; authorizing the Director of the Transportation Department to furnish the FTA with any additional information which may be required; authorizing the County Administrator to accept an award and to sign any and all documentation approved by the Office of the County Attorney that may be required in connection with the grant application or award; authorizing the County Administrator to take all administrative and budgetary actions necessary to implement the grant; and providing for an effective date.
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Why Action is Necessary
Broward County, FL, as the grant applicant and recipient of federal financial assistance, is required by the U.S. Department of Transportation to take official action to authorize the Director of the Transportation Department and the County Attorney, or designated personnel, to execute and file necessary grant applications and all FTA-required documents for Federal assistance on the FTA’s Internet-based grant system.
What Action Accomplishes
Approves the acceptance of $78,034,438 in CARES Act grant funds from the Federal Transit Administration and authorizes the County administrator to take administrative and budgetary actions to implement the grant.
Is this Action Goal Related
Yes
Previous Action Taken
None
Summary Explanation/Background
THE TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT/TRANSIT DIVISION Recommend approval of the above action.
This item supports the Board’s Vision and Values of “Cooperatively delivering an efficient and accessible regional intermodal transportation network” and “Ensuring economic opportunities for Broward’s diverse population and businesses”. On April 2, 2020, the Federal Transit Administration allocated $25 Billion in “Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act” (CARES Act), funds to help the nation’s public transportation systems respond to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). These funds were part of a package of $2.2 trillion in various forms of assistance in the CARES Act signed by President Donald J. Trump on March 27, 2020 to help respond to the current COVID-19 nationwide public health emergency. These funds are in addition to the “regular” annual appropriations for the Federal Transit Administration’s (FTA) formula grants which the County receives. In keeping with the law, these funds were allocated only to Section 5307 (urban) and Section 5311 (rural) recipients.
The FTA posted Apportionment Tables for the CARES Act on its website on April 2, 2020. CARES Act funds are distributed by formula to the “Miami Urbanized Area,” (Miami UZA) consisting of Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties. The Miami UZA was apportioned FTA Section 5307 funds in the amount of $309,063,406 and Section 5340 Growing State funds in the amount of $16,768,542, for a total amount of $325,831,948.
The letter sent to the FTA Region 4 Administrator signed by the four county transit agencies, PalmTran, Broward County Transit (BCT), Miami-Dade Transit and the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority (SFRTA), outlines the total allocation for the Miami UZA and the allocation to each sub-recipient based on FTA's formula and Broward County’s total share of FTA funds is $78,034,438 which includes $2,853,626 generated from the Community Shuttle program. The County provided capital and/or operating funding to and reported ridership data for the 19 cities listed in Fiscal Year 2019 (Exhibit 2).
Unlike routine annual FTA 5307 appropriations, the CARES Act transit funds are one-time funding “available until expended,” which means there’s no time limit before the funds lapse. Two other important features of the CARES Act funds are that they may be used for any activities that would be eligible uses of Section 5307 funding (with some additional flexibility, including the ability to use these funds to cover operating costs, lost revenue, purchase of personal protective equipment, etc.), and that these CARES Act funds may be used to cover 100% of project costs, with no requirement for non-federal matching funds, in contrast to the local match requirements that pertain to most FTA formula grant programs.
Source of Additional Information
Chris Walton, Director, Transportation Department, (954) 357-8361
Fiscal Impact
Fiscal Impact/Cost Summary
Provides $78,034,438 in FTA 5307 grant funding.