The city of Los Angeles will get nearly $60 million in long-awaited federal reimbursements from FEMA for costs spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic – part of a larger package worth more than $300 million coming to the L.A. area, officials announced Tuesday, Feb. 27.
The news from L.A. Mayor Karen Bass and a delegation of Los Angeles city councilmembers followed two days of meetings with Gov. Gavin Newsom and other state officials in Sacramento.
Bass and councilmembers used the trip to the state capitol to press for funding and flexibility to address homelessness and housing needs, and to ask for faster action from Sacramento in paying back the city’s huge bill from the pandemic and the destructive recent winter storm.
The Los Angeles Unified School District, Kaiser Foundation Hospitals and Loma Linda University Medical Center will also get reimbursements, according to an announcement from the mayor’s office.
Bass, in a phone interview with this newspaper shortly after her announcement, said that heading into the trip, L.A. officials did not know if the big chunk of money from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) would come through.
“It was definitely still up in the air,” she said. “We certainly knew we were contending for it, but that doesn’t mean you’re going to get it, especially in these tough economic times.”
Newsom said in a statement, “California is proud to support Mayor Bass and the city’s efforts to help Angelenos rebuild from damaging storms, access housing, and recover from the pandemic.” He noted that state, local and federal partners are united in helping communities recover from emergencies and disasters.
City officials welcomed the expedited FEMA money, but are still trying to get more reimbursements from Washington for the city’s efforts during the pandemic to temporarily place the homeless in hotel or motel rooms using the state’s Project Roomkey program.
As it heads into budget season, L.A. City Hall…
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