Form revised September 30, 2009

 

FISCAL NOTE FOR NON-CAPITAL PROJECTS

 

Department:

Contact Person/Phone:

DOF Analyst/Phone:

Office of Sustainability and Environment

Jill Simmons/684-9261

Calvin Chow/684-4652

 

Legislation Title:

AN ORDINANCE relating to a grant from the Department of Energy allocated through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009; accepting the grant funds, authorizing the Mayor or his designee to execute related agreements, increasing appropriations in the 2010 Adopted Budget for the Office of Sustainability and Environment, Office of Economic Development, and Seattle City Light, creating four term-limited positions in the Office of Sustainability and Environment and one term-limited position in Seattle City Light, and ratifying and confirming prior acts; all by a two-thirds vote of the City Council. 

 

·         Summary of the Legislation:

This legislation provides grant acceptance authority and appropriations to spend $20,000,000 of grant funds made available through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (“ARRA”). The grant supports programs to retrofit residential, commercial, hospital, and municipal buildings in the Central District and parts of Southeast Seattle, reduce approximately 70,000 metric tons of greenhouse gases, and create up to 2,000 new living wage green jobs. The legislation creates 4.0 FTEs in the Office of Sustainability and Environment and 1.0 FTE in Seattle City Light to administer the grant. The positions will be abrogated effective December 31, 2013 unless additional funding is identified and appropriated.

 

 

·         Background:  

In April 2010, the City of Seattle was awarded a $20 million grant from the US Department of Energy for a neighborhood-based building retrofit program aimed at achieving deep energy efficiency across all building sectors, reducing greenhouse gases, and creating green jobs. The grant funds are significantly leveraged through strategic partnerships and local investment. The grant program’s budget and associated leverage are outlined in two attachments to this fiscal note (Attachments A and B).

 

With this EECBG grant, the City of Seattle will fund the following activities:

 

Item

Program and Description

1

Loan fund and credit enhancement. Expands existing loan programs and explores creating new loan programs to provide cost effective financing for retrofits.

2

Carbon Reduction Fund. Establishment of a competitive process to provide financial incentives for retrofit projects based on carbon reduced by the project.

3

Outreach and marketing. Marketing to targeted/eligible properties across numerous sectors identified by city.

4

Workforce Development. Expand existing green workforce development efforts currently taken upon by the city, including a focus on worker placement, and worker and employer support services.

5

Measurement and Verification. Compile and analyze energy usage and performance data regularly to assess program results.

6

Grant Administration. This funding will allow the City to respond to the administration, monitoring and reporting requirements of the grant.

 

·         Please check one of the following:

 

____    This legislation does not have any financial implications.  (Stop here and delete the remainder of this document prior to saving and printing.)

 

__X__ This legislation has financial implications.  (Please complete all relevant sections that follow.)

 

Appropriations: 

 

Fund Name and Number

Department

Budget Control Level

2010

Appropriation

2011 Anticipated Appropriation

General Subfund (00100)

Office of Sustainability and Environment

Office of Sustainability and Environment (X1000)

$17,945,000

$0

General Subfund (00100)

Office of Economic Development

Office of Economic Development (X1D00)

$1,825,000

$0

City Light Fund (41000)

Seattle City Light

Financial Services – O&M (SCL500)

$  230,000

$0

TOTAL

 

 

$20,000,000

$0

 

Notes to Appropriations Table:   Spending of the appropriation in this section is contingent upon ARRA funds being granted to, and received by, the City. As a grant, unspent funds will carry forward to subsequent years until they are exhausted or abandoned by ordinance.

 

Anticipated Revenue/Reimbursement: Resulting From This Legislation:

 

Fund Name and Number

Department

Revenue Source

2010

Revenue

2011

Revenue

 

 

General Subfund (00100)

Office of Sustainability and Environment

Office of Sustainability and Environment (X1000)

$17,945,000

$0

 

General Subfund (00100)

Office of Economic Development

Office of Economic Development (X1D00)

$1,825,000

$0

 

City Light Fund (41000)

Seattle City Light

Financial Services – O&M (SCL500)

$  230,000

$0

 

TOTAL

 

 

$20,000,000

$0

 

Notes: The U.S. Department of Energy will disburse all funds ($20 million) upon the City’s acceptance of the grant award. The U.S. Department of Energy requires that EECBG funding be obligated within 18 months and be spent within 36 months.

 

Total Regular Positions Created, Modified, Or Abrogated Through This Legislation, Including FTE Impact: 

 

Position Title and Department

Position # for Existing Positions

Fund Name and Number

PT/FT

2010

Positions

2010

FTE

2011 Positions

2011 FTE

Strategic Advisor 2, Exempt / Office of Sustainability and Environment

New position

General Fund (00100)

FT

1

1.0

1

1.0

Strategic Advisor 1, Exempt / Office of Sustainability and Environment

New positions

General Fund (00100)

FT

2

2.0

2

2.0

Administrative Staff Analyst / Office of Sustainability and Environment                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

New position

General Fund (00100)

FT

1

1.0

1

1.0

Sr. Finance Analyst / Seattle City Light

New position

City Light Fund (41000)

FT

1

1.0

1

1.0

TOTAL

 

 

 

5

5.0

5

5.0

 

Notes:

 

·         Do positions sunset in the future? Yes. This grant provides funding for the positions for three years.  While the grant expires on May 30, 2013, the positions will be abrogated on December 31, 2013 to provide a cushion for the department to fill the position on the front-end and fulfill final reporting requirements once grant period ends.

 

 

Spending/Cash Flow:

 

Fund Name and Number

Department

Budget Control Level*

2010

Expenditures

2011 Anticipated Expenditures

General Subfund (00100)

Office of Sustainability and Environment

Office of Sustainability and Environment (X1000)

$15,531,000

$1,223,000

General Subfund (00100)

Office of Economic Development

Office of Economic Development (X1D00)

$ 1,825,000

N/A

City Light Fund (41000)

Seattle City Light

Financial Services – O&M (SCL500)

N/A

$115,000

 

Notes: This table reflects anticipated spending in 2010 and 2011.  Most expenses will occur in 2010 through contracts for the capitalization of loan and carbon reduction funds. An additional $1,306,000 is anticipated to be spent in 2012 and 2013 for a total spending plan of $20,000,000.

 

What is the financial cost of not implementing the legislation?  Without this legislation, the City will not receive $20,000,000 in revenues to support programs to retrofit residential, commercial, hospital, and municipal buildings in the Central District and parts of Southeast Seattle, reduce approximately 70,000 metric tons of greenhouse gases, and create up to 2,000 new living wage green jobs.

 

Does this legislation affect any departments besides the originating department?  Both the Office of Economic Development and Seattle City Light receive direct funding from this grant.  In addition, existing City programs have been identified as leverage contributions for the EECBG Ramp-Up program, together with other community, utility, financial and business partners.  These leveraged contributions are described in Attachment B to this fiscal note, and include programs in Seattle City Light (Energy Conservation, Rebates, and Financing), Office of Housing (Homewise Weatherization), and potential retrofits of City facilities (Municipal Building Retrofits).  While this leveraged funding is not a specific local match requirement for this grant, demonstrating these leveraged contributions was instrumental in the Department of Energy’s grant selection process.

 

What are the possible alternatives to the legislation that could achieve the same or similar objectives?  Acceptance of the grant award is a prerequisite for the receipt of these federal economic stimulus funds.  There are no alternatives that could achieve the same or similar objectives.

 

Is the legislation subject to public hearing requirements:  No.

 

Other Issues: The EECBG Ramp-Up program is a new grant program, and continued funding for future grant cycles is uncertain.  The City programs receiving these funds have developed spending plans based on a one-time grant, however the City may apply for additional funds in the future if the Ramp-Up program is continued or if other fund sources are identified.

 

Please list attachments to the fiscal note below:

1.      Attachment A, Retrofit Ramp-Up Grant Program Budget

2.      Attachment B, Retrofit Ramp-Up Grant Estimated Leverage

Attachments A and B