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RESOLUTION RECOMMENDING HURRICANE SANDY NEW JERSEY RELIEF FUND, INC. AND THE MAYOR�S FUND TO ADVANCE NEW YORK CITY AS RECIPIENT AGENCIES FOR EMPLOYEE-DONATED FUNDS FROM THE COUNTY�S EMERGENCY DISASTER RELIEF FUND FOR THE PURPOSES OF ASSISTING VICTIMS OF HURRICANE SANDY, IN ACCORDANCE WITH R-977-12; AND AUTHORIZING DISBURSEMENT OF DONATED FUNDS TO HURRICANE SANDY NEW JERSEY RELIEF FUND, INC. AND THE MAYOR�S FUND TO ADVANCE NEW YORK CITY FOR THIS PURPOSE

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WHEREAS, this Board of County Commissioners adopted Resolution R-977-12 to allow County employees to contribute leave time to Hurricane Sandy relief efforts; and
WHEREAS, this Board directed the County Mayor or County Mayor�s designee to provide the Board recommendation for recipient agencies to provide the value of the leave time accumulated in accordance with R-977-12,

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, FLORIDA, that this Board accepts the Hurricane Sandy New Jersey Relief Fund, Inc. and the Mayor�s Fund to Advance New York City as the designated recipients of employee-donated leave time in accordance with R-977-12; and authorizes the County Mayor or the County Mayor�s designee to equally disburse to these agencies the value of funds accumulated as of the end of the pay period following the effective date of this resolution.

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Date:

To: Honorable Chairwoman Rebeca Sosa
and Members, Board of County Commissioners

From: Carlos A. Gimenez
Mayor

Subject: Resolution Recommending Hurricane Sandy New Jersey Relief Fund, Inc. and the Mayor�s Fund to Advance
New York City as Recipient Agencies for Employee-Donated Funds from the County�s Emergency Disaster
Relief Fund for the Purposes of Assisting Victims of Hurricane Sandy

STAFF RECOMMENDATION
RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended that the Board of County Commissioners (Board) approve the attached resolution which authorizes the following:
* Recommends the Hurricane Sandy New Jersey Relief Fund, Inc. and the Mayor�s Fund to Advance New York City, both 501(c)(3) non-profit organizations, as the agencies designated to receive funds donated by County employees in response to R-977-12 to assist victims of Hurricane Sandy; and
* Authorizes the equal disbursement of the fund balance as of the end of the pay period immediately after this Resolution becomes effective.

At the time of this writing, the value of funds donated is $31,795.

SCOPE
The scope of this resolution is countywide as all County employees are eligible to donate time pursuant to R-977-12.

FISCAL IMPACT/FUNDING SOURCE
There is no fiscal impact to the County. The funding source is the County�s Emergency Disaster Relief Fund, which is funded by donations made by County employee leave time.

TRACK RECORD/MONITOR
The County has no record of negative performance issues with the recommended agencies. The donation of leave time is monitored by Melanie McLean, Human Resources Division, Internal Services Department.

DELEGATED AUTHORITY
The County Mayor or County Mayor�s designee is authorized to disburse funds accumulated in accordance with R-977-12. This item recommends Hurricane Sandy New Jersey Relief Fund, Inc. and Mayor�s Fund to Advance New York City as the recipients of the funds and the County Mayor or County Mayor�s designee is authorized to transfer the funds at the end of the pay period immediately after this resolution becomes effective.

MANAGER'S BACKGROUND
BACKGROUND
At the meeting of November 8, 2012, the Board adopted R-977-12, which authorized employees to contribute the value of accrued annual or holiday leave to provide donations to the County�s Emergency Disaster Relief Fund to benefit the victims of Hurricane Sandy. A memorandum was sent to all employees on November 21, 2012 providing instructions and the necessary forms to donate.

As part of R-977-12, staff was directed to evaluate options to donate the funding for Hurricane Sandy relief efforts. More specifically, staff was directed to ensure an effective vehicle for helping the most hard-hit underserved communities ravaged by Hurricane Sandy and present this recommendation(s) to the Board for consideration. The following agencies are recommended:

Mayor�s Fund to Advance New York City � This fund is supporting immediate aid needs as well as long-term restoration efforts, including hot meals, relief supplies, homeowner assistance, loans and grants, groceries, debris removal, showers, transportation services and many other initiatives for victims of Hurricane Sandy. One hundred percent of every dollar the organization receives is directed to New York City�s recovery; no administration fee is retained by the Mayor�s Fund. Additional information on this fund is accessible via: http://www.nyc.gov/html/fund/html/home/home.shtml

Hurricane Sandy New Jersey Relief Fund, Inc. � This fund raises and distributes funds to organizations that support the recovery and rebuilding efforts of New Jersey communities impacted by Hurricane Sandy. The fund has raised more than $31 million to date. Some of the target initiatives of this fund include, but are not limited to, housing assistance, counseling services on financial options and legal issues, economic development to rebuild workforce and small businesses, temporary housing, relocation, and home construction, services for persons with mental health, disabilities and educational difficulties as a result of Hurricane Sandy, college loans/grant programs to assist persons with financial difficulties as a result of Hurricane Sandy, assistance with financial education/planning options and various application procedures, case managers to assist with legal counseling related to Hurricane Sandy, job transition counseling and training services to New Jersey communities to rebuild employment, and business counseling and resource development to rebuild small businesses. This fund requires that 90 percent of all requested funds by organizations seeking this grant funding be used for program-related expenses. Additional information on this fund is accessible via: http://sandynjrelieffund.org/


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Edward Marquez
Deputy Mayor