Malden Received $5M+ In CARES Act Funding: How It's Been Used

MALDEN, MA — Malden received more than $5 million in funding under the CARES Act, according to a presentation at Tuesday's Finance Committee meeting. The Committee heard a breakdown of how much has been used so far – over $1.2 million – and where it has gone.

There are three major qualifiers to allocate CARES Act funding: expenses must be non-budgeted as of March 27, 2020, they must have been incurred between March 1 and Dec. 30, 2020, and they must have been necessary with respect to the COVID-19 public health emergency.

Significant expenses included providing more than $238,000 in rental assistance to 69 tenants, averaging $3,451.19 per renter. The city is working with tenants to allocate the remaining $158,000 in rental assistance and has set aside an additional $500,000 for a potential second round of funding.

Malden spent more than $219,000 on 344 overtime shifts for the fire department and over $38,000 on overtime for the police department. The city reached an agreement with the state to allot $80,000 in CARES Act funding toward its City Hall lease from March through June 2020.

Other expenses included $126,000 on PPE, $107,000 on accelerated telework capacity, $25,000 for COVID-19 testing, $21,000 on vaccine tents and refrigeration, $10,000 for the Malden Warming Center and $27,000 on social distancing modifications at City Hall.

See a more detailed breakdown below:

Malden anticipates more than $2.3 million in lost revenue as a result of the crisis. Current guidance does not allow CARES Act funding to be used as revenue replacement, but city officials said federal guidance could change.

The Public Facilities Department is also working with the state to upgrade the HVAC systems within all Malden school buildings. The goal is to have these upgrades completed by August 2021.