BY LUCIE KRISMAN
City officials are making projections about Eudora's financial future, including potential lost revenue for the city.
City staff are using three different scenarios to predict possible financial futures for Eudora by the end of 2020. The full projections for each scenario were discussed at a previous City Commission meeting and can be viewed in this agenda.
The first scenario, "Quick Recovery," estimates the primary impact on Eudora to be over by June 30. The "Moderate Recovery" scenario estimates the primary impact to be over by July 31 and the "Long-term Recovery" scenario estimates the primary impact to be over by Aug. 31.
Two of the biggest factors involved in projecting the impact on Eudora from COVID-19 include sales tax at the city and county levels during the stay-at-home order and lost revenue from a change in policy regarding late utility payments, City Manager Barack Matite said.
This policy allowed residents to apply for an additional payment timeframe for utilities, including electric base and usage, water base and usage, sewer, storm drainage, trash and sales tax. Members of the City Commission discussed and approved this plan at a previous meeting.
"They didn't have to do that, it was not a requirement, but they knew what the economic impact would be," Matite said. "They wanted to do what we can to help our residents."
Lost revenue for the city would possibly delay projects and capital improvements. Due to the two-month gap in seeing the number of sales for the city for a given month, Matite said the stay-at-home order's effect on sales tax for Eudora for April will not be known until June.
"Right now, we haven't seen a lot of fluctuations," Matite said. "Two months ago, people were still buying and the stay-at- home orders weren't in place. We haven’t seen that impact yet, but it's coming."
In the meantime, the city of Eudora plans to apply for a CDBG-CV economic development grant to help small businesses in town impacted by COVID-19. The city will apply for the maximum amount of $300,000.
Matite said as residents begin to spend their money locally again as the economy re-opens, more information about the impact of sales tax and revenue on Eudora will be known in the coming months.
"We'll continue to adjust the model throughout this month, next month, as we get more information," Matite said. "We are constantly watching our expenditures as well."
On Thursday, Lawrence-Douglas County Public Health announced it would follow Gov. Laura Kelly's advisory for a next stage of phased reopening that will begin Monday called Phase 1.5.
“The good news is that hospitalizations and COVID-related deaths continue to decline, enabling us to move forward with our efforts to safely reopen Kansas,” Kelly said in a statement. “Unfortunately, the daily rate of disease spread has not shown the downward trajectory necessary to move fully into Phase 2. I said from the beginning that public safety must remain the top priority, which means that our reopening efforts must be driven by data, not dates. Phase 1.5 will continue our transition, but with necessary caution.”
Under this phase:
Mass gatherings of more than 10 individuals continue to be prohibited;
Nail salons, barber shops, hair salons, tanning salons, tattoo parlors and other personal service businesses where close contact cannot be avoided may open, but only for pre-scheduled appointments or online check-in;
Fitness centers and health clubs may open, but in-person group classes may not occur and locker rooms must be closed except as necessary to use restroom facilities.
In-person commencement or graduation ceremonies may occur with no more than 10 individuals in a room, gymnasium, or facility at one time as long as 6-foot social distancing is maintained. Outdoor drive-through graduation ceremonies during which no more than 10 individuals are in the same area outside of their vehicles at a time (i.e. school administration, graduate, family members, etc.) are allowed.
The following remain closed to the public:
Bars and night clubs, excluding already operating curbside and carryout services;
Non-tribal Casinos;
Theaters, museums, and other indoor leisure spaces (trampoline parks, arcades, etc.);
Community centers;
Outdoor and indoor large entertainment venues with capacity of 2,000 or more;
Fairs, festivals, carnivals, parades;
Swimming pools (other than backyard pools);
Organized sports facilities, sports tournaments, sports games, and sports practices; and
Summer camps.
The Douglas County local health order that closed libraries and restaurants to in-house dining will be allowed to expire at 11:59 p.m. Sunday, according to a news release, meaning restaurants can open Monday to in-house dining under state guidelines that include seating parties at least 6 feet apart from each other and enhanced cleaning and social distancing practices.
Libraries in Douglas County also may open Monday, but check with your local library on its specific plans, the release said.
“We are watching metrics very closely. If we don’t take social distancing measures seriously, it could be necessary for us to prolong phases of the governor’s reopening or go back to previous restrictive measures," Douglas County’s Local Health Officer Dr. Thomas Marcellino said in a statement. "Cloth masks are especially important and should be used as much as possible.”
Reach Lucie Krisman at eudoratimes@gmail.com.
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