League City City Council members want to spend CARES Act funding on masks for residents

City staff on July 28 provided an update to League City City Council members on how the city's CARES Act funding has been spent so far, and some council members expressed a desire for the money to go directly to residents.

Ryan Edghill, League City’s emergency management coordinator, explained at $55 per capita, the city received $5.73 million in CARES Act funding. The city has agreed to provide up to $1.04 million of that to Galveston County to test League City residents.

So far, the city has incurred $1.11 million with the vast majority—$930,000—going to payroll. About $47,000 has been spent on personal protective equipment and supplies, and another $42,000 has been spent on employee testing, Edghill said.

Council Member Andy Mann asked if the money can be spent to help protect League City residents directly. Considering the city received over $5 million in CARES Act funding, every person in the city should be provided their own personal box of masks for the next six months, he said.

“If you have this money and you’ve taken care of the organization, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t extend this out to the citizens," Mann said.

Edghill said masks are available to anyone who walks into a public building in League City but confirmed the city could theoretically provide masks to every neighborhood.

"Yes, that should be an eligible expense," Edghill said.

Council Member Hank Dugie agreed, saying the council and staff will have to collaborate on creative ways to use the CARES Act funding for residents' benefit.

“We have the funds to use for good in the community, so let’s find some ways to do that," he said.