Redwood City OKs 10 measures on coronavirus

“I don’t even believe that discussion should be on the table,” Hale said. “Even having that conservation feels completely inappropriate.”

The 11 staff recommendations included updating the City Council in October about the local minimum wage increase, effective January 2021, so that the council might consider postponing the pay boost as a way to help Redwood City businesses.

The City Council has adopted a local $15-an-hour minimum wage with annual increases based on the Consumer Price Index.

Coronavirus-related measures winning council approval Monday include directing the city staff to develop resolutions for $393,000 to the Emergency Rental Assistance Fund and $300,000 to San Mateo County Strong to support Redwood City small business relief efforts.

Councilman Ian Bain said the city has to be prepared to use reserves to deal with impacts of the coronavirus.

“We are looking at a very long economic recovery,” Bain said.

The municipality has $23.6 million in reserves, City Manager Melissa Stevenson Diaz said.

Mayor Diane Howard spoke about officials setting aside funds for emergencies and said the coronavirus certainly qualifies.

“This is one of the biggest rainy days we’ve ever seen,” Howard said.

Redwood City has incurred $83,196 in expenditures related to the COVID-19 response, a city staff report said. Most of the expenditures are salary and benefit costs.

The report noted that the 2008 recession resulted in city revenue and significantly affected municipal city staffing and services for several years. Building permit revenue experienced the largest decrease at 46% while property taxes, the city’s largest revenue source, decreased by 2%, according to the report.

Sales tax, the second largest operating revenue source, sales tax, decreased in 2008 by 17%.

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