Section 3.3 Barriers to Accessing and Using CARES Act Funds

Although large sums of money were made available to rural Alaskan communities, they often faced barriers to spending it. As noted above, barriers included chronic understaffing and high turnover in administrative positions. Many communities lacked key decision makers, and there was a great deal of confusion and concern around appropriate spending of CARES Act funds (e.g., purchasing new buildings did not fall under “acceptable use” for some CARES Act allocations). A lack of adequate internet access combined with numerous eligibility and verification barriers hindered communities’ ability to receive information about grant opportunities and guidelines and to access relief funds.

McKenney, Hope. “DOT Says CARES Act Funding Cannot Be Used For Unalaska’s Airport Extension.” KUCB, April 25, 2020. https://www.kucb.org/government/2020-04-25/dot-says-cares-act-funding-cannot-be-used-for-unalaskas-airport-extension.

This news article highlighted confusion around proper uses for CARES Act funding. Unalaska received $1,120,265 in CARES Act funds for its airport but could not use the funds for airport expansion because that is classified as a capital project. This barrier had implications for tribes and local governments wanting to use COVID funds for shelter construction and updates to buildings, facilities, and infrastructure that could not be directly linked to impacts of COVID. Small communities with “hidden homelessness” may face similar barriers to proving COVID’s impact on housing.

Mason, James, and Diana Haecker. “Federal Covid-19 Relief Funds Slow to Reach Nome.” Nome Nugget, May 1, 2020. http://www.nomenugget.com/news/federal-covid-19-relief-funds-slow-reach-nome.

This article details many barriers Nome business owners faced when trying to access pandemic assistance funds. Communication barriers included emails about grants or loans arriving too late. Nationwide funding for small businesses in economically vulnerable communities was exhausted before the announcement was circulated in Nome. Local banks either did not offer links to process COVID fund loans or were unprepared to handle the volume of applications.

Neyman, Jenny. “Relief Funding to Cities Could Cause Headaches.” KDLL Public Radio for the Central Kenai Peninsula, May 2, 2020. https://www.kdll.org/local-news/2020-05-01/relief-funding-to-cities-could-cause-headaches.

This article reports on Kenai City Manager Paul Ostrander’s testimony to the House Finance Committee in mid-2020. After the first influx of CARES Act funds, many cities were confused with guidelines for spending and concerned they would “face penalties or have to return money in the future if they spent it incorrectly.” Ostrander highlighted the necessity of “local control” of spending, emphasizing that flexibility to buffer the loss of city revenue would help local governments to continue providing necessary services even if they did not have very many direct COVID costs.

Phillips, JoJo. “‘Unserviced’: Why Some Western Alaska Villages Lack Basic Sanitation Infrastructure.” Anchorage Daily News, May 20, 2020. https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/rural-alaska/2020/05/19/unserviced-why-some-western-alaska-villages-lack-basic-sanitation-infrastructure/.

This article provides an overview of how coastal communities like Wales are coping with the coronavirus pandemic without access to running water. First person interviews are included, with parallels drawn between village experiences with the Spanish Flu in 1918. Jojo Phillips discussed the urgency around addressing impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The article also summarizes communication, bureaucratic, and financial barriers communities face in addressing the lack of infrastructure in their communities.

Brooks, James. “Most of Alaska’s $1.5 Billion Federal Pandemic Aid Package Remains Unspent.” Anchorage Daily News, July 22, 2020. https://www.adn.com/alaska- news/2020/07/22/most-of-alaskas-15-billion-federal-pandemic-aid-package-remains-unspent/.

Two months after a major influx of federal CARES Act funds, much of the $1.5 billion package remained unspent due to assistance programs being challenged in court, slow city/borough approval processes, and eligibility restrictions for grants. Luckily, some housing programs were not amongst these major delays: AHFC’s $10 million lottery for housing aid was on track to distribute payments to between 8,000 and 12,000 renters and homeowners by the end of August 2020.

George, Kavitha. “U.S. Treasury Inspector General Warns Property Purchases Might Not Be Acceptable Use of CARES Act Funds.” Alaska Public Media, August 12, 2020. https://alaskapublic.org/2020/08/12/u-s-treasury-inspector-general-warns-property-purchases-might-not-be-acceptable-use-of-cares-act-funds/.

This article covers the barriers to the Anchorage Assembly’s plan to utilize CARES Act funding for the purchase of three buildings to be used for housing and homelessness resources. The city paused these purchases after the U.S. Treasury cautioned this may not fall under changing guidance on allowable uses of the funding, particularly guidance that requires building uses to be “temporary.”

“Brother Francis Kodiak to Receive $752K.” Alaska Housing Finance Corporation, November 16, 2020. https://www.ahfc.us/blog/posts/brother-francis-shelter-kodiak-be-awarded-752197-grant-ahfc-assist-residents-who-are-homeless-or-temporary-financial-distress.

This AHFC blog post covers how HUD emergency solutions grant money was used to rehabilitate a homeless shelter’s ventilation system, bathrooms, entry, laundry and sanitation equipment and additional use to “avert eviction of families in temporary financial distress.” According to Brother Francis Kodiak’s director, the area saw an increased need for prevention services, and the grant would enable them to help “60 households with prevention/placement services.”

Eurich, Johanna, and Olivia Ebertz. “Alaska Tribes to Receive More than $1B through Federal Rescue Plan.” KTOO, April 1, 2021. https://www.ktoo.org/2021/04/01/alaska-tribes-to-receive-more-than-1-billion-through-federal-rescue-plan/.

An interview with Teresa Jacobsson of the Alaska Tribal Administrators Association covers the good and the bad associated with the influx of aid to Alaskan tribes. While CARES Act general funds had a short spending deadline, tribes had three years to spend the $1 billion aid package from the American Rescue Plan. Tribes were required to carefully document spending for auditors, and many used some of the funds to hire professional auditing help, which raised concerns about outside consultants taking advantage of tribes (as happened to many tribes in the lower 48).

Schuetz, Jenny. “Four Lessons from a Year of Pandemic Housing Policies.” Brookings, March 3, 2021. https://www.brookings.edu/articles/four-lessons-from-a-year-of-pandemic-housing-policies/.

A summary of remarks made to the Pandemic Recovery Accountability Committee (PRAC) outlined four key lessons on the effectiveness of housing interventions in the previous year of pandemic response: 1) Give people [direct] money; 2) Keep things simple; 3) Keep monetary relief ongoing; and, 4) Encourage rigorous program evaluation after the crisis. Lesson 2, in particular, highlighted many of the barriers communities faced when attempting to access relief, including online application systems and extensive documentation and eligibility criteria.