The Sacramento City Council is expected to approve a comprehensive COVID-19 response and relief package during a special meeting on Friday. That meeting will be closed to the public in keeping with state guidelines for large gatherings. It will instead be live streamed online.
Mayor Darrell Steinberg offered details during a Thursday afternoon news conference at City Hall. He said the 1:00 p.m. Friday meeting will include consideration of an emergency declaration to provide help for businesses hard hit by COVID-19, which is more commonly called coronavirus. He wants a financial relief package that will provide zero percent loans of up to $25,000 for restaurants and other businesses already struggling with a loss of customers. Those businesses are likely feel an even bigger pinch with the suspensions of NCAA basketball tournament games scheduled to be played at Sacramento's downtown Golden 1 Center later this month.
Steinberg also wants protections for renters who suddenly find themselves without a paycheck and possibly facing eviction, free metered parking for up to 30 days to encourage business downtown, and help for any school districts trying to feed students after deciding to temporarily cancel classes and other activities over coronavirus concerns.
Beyond those measures, the Sacramento City Council is also expected to give the city manager as much as $250,000 for emergency sanitation efforts directed at the area's homeless population in an attempt to keep the virus from widespread among those people.