City accepts additional COVID-19 emergency funding

Published 11:35 am Thursday, July 23, 2020

The Mercer Island City Council accepted two sources of emergency funding at its July 21 meeting.

Via a fundraiser headed by the Mercer Island Youth and Family Services Foundation, $815,000 in donations was made available to the council.

The council accepted $102,600 of fundraiser money at the meeting. The city will be using it to partially restore part-time administrative support, family and senior therapy and mental-health counselors for the Youth and Family Services (YFS) Department.

The remaining $712,400 won’t be accepted or allocated until upcoming 2021-‘22 budget discussions.

The council also accepted during the meeting CARES Act Coronavirus Relief Funds amounting to $734,000. This sum will aid Mercer Island’s emergency operations center (EOC), which was activated March 5.

Since its opening, the EOC has had to spend a large amount of its resources on supply needs and unbudgeted staffing as the pandemic has progressed.

In a city press release, it’s noted that Mercer Island is still pursuing other funding sources like FEMA Public Assistance reimbursements. The city is additionally seeking $37,000 for local businesses through King County CARES Act funding.