Shutdown worries mount

By BRIAN WALKER

Staff Writer

The longer the partial federal government shutdown lasts, the more local agencies and residents are starting to feel the pinch.

But it's still business as usual on other fronts.

Today marks Day 24 of the closure, surpassing the previous standoff record of 21 days set during the 1995-96 budget fight between President Bill Clinton and House Speaker Newt Gingrich.

Infrastructure projects, housing programs, grant funding and federal employee pay are examples of the shutdown's trickle-down effect that are now being felt.

Dean Johnson, marketing coordinator for the Idaho Housing and Finance Association, said the federal agencies the association partners with on programs such as rental assistance and home loans are impacted by the shutdown. Those agencies include Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the IRS.

Collaboration with those agencies has been stalled, Johnson said.

"If questions need to be elevated to HUD staff, they won't be answered until the shutdown is over," Johnson said.

However, Federal Housing Administration single-family loans are still available to Idaho Housing's lending partners, Johnson said.

With rental assistance, January payments were made by HUD. The agency has indicated it will provide funds for February.

"That means those who receive rental assistance through Idaho Housing should not expect any interruption in February," Johnson said. "Idaho Housing has contingency plans in place should the shutdown continue into March."

HUD has also already committed funds for homelessness services in Idaho through September that can be used for nonprofits, Johnson said.

HUD programs that encourage public-private partnerships to fund affordable housing haven't been affected so far, but there may be delays in the future on the construction side depending on the length of the shutdown, Johnson said.

Low-income housing tax credits, which have been allocated for 2019, aren't affected, he said.

Nearly everyone at the Internal Revenue Service, which processes tax returns and issues refunds, has been told to stay home although the administration says tax refunds will be issued during the shutdown.

Funding flow affected

The flow of federal grant funding to some local agencies has been delayed.

Panhandle Area Council in Hayden secures and administers community development grants for local agencies.

"Things are slower for us because of the federal shutdown," said Nancy Mabile, PAC's grant manager. "There's nobody to talk to (on the federal level) and nobody to approve projects so they can move forward."

Mabile cited a wastewater collection upgrade in Worley as an example of a project that's been impacted.

"We're awaiting a certificate of completion that needs to be signed off," she said. "We can't close out that project until we get that fully executed. The project is stalled."

Mabile said she's not sure what the future holds with other projects in the pipeline, creating uncertainty about timelines.

"The longer the shutdown goes on, the more we're going to feel it," she said. "Part of our funding comes from the Economic Development Administration and they are on shutdown."

Mabile described the overall impact as "not too bad — yet."

"This is our slow period anyway, so we're OK for now," she said. "But we're just not sure what the future holds."

Post Falls Police is awaiting three federal grants for outreach projects totaling $30,000 that have been sidelined.

"(The federal government) says the money is there; they just don't have anyone on their end to process the grant payments," Chief Pat Knight said. "We will keep a close eye on what happens."

Capt. Greg McLean said, however, that not having the funding does not disturb public safety or personnel matters.

On the transportation front, the Idaho Transportation Department, which receives federal funding for projects, isn't anticipating immediate impacts from the shutdown, said spokeswoman Megan Sausser.

"However, we are actively tracking developments and will continue to analyze the situation going forward," she said.

Employee factor

Payday came Friday without checks for about 800,000 federal employees nationwide. It has forced some workers to scale back spending, apply for unemployment benefits and take out loans to weather the storm.

Bart Davis, U.S. attorney for Idaho, said all employees in the Coeur d'Alene branch of his office are continuing to work because it involves public safety and criminal cases.

"All criminal prosecutions will continue without interruptions," Davis said.

Federal employees impacted by the paycheck hiccup include those who are furloughed and not working at all, as well as "essential" employees who are still on the job. All employees are expected to receive back pay once the government is up and running again.

"These are people who want to do their jobs and are continuing to do their jobs without compensation until an appropriation solution is provided," Davis said.

On the civil side in other U.S. Attorney offices, he said, some employees have been furloughed.

Other examples of local federal offices that have furloughed employees include the U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management and Veterans Affairs.

The BLM recently canceled the Eagle Watch Week event on Lake Coeur d'Alene due to the shutdown.

Federal officials in those offices have left automatic return messages for inquiries.

"I am not authorized to work during this time, but will respond to your email when I return to the office," wrote Kurt Pavlat, BLM's Coeur d'Alene manager.

Many federal agencies are operating normally during the shutdown because they’re funded through this fiscal year. However, if lawmakers and the White House fail to reach a budget agreement for several months, that funding would start to run out too. Some economists predict a shutdown lasting longer than February would harm the broader economy.

Idaho numbers

In Idaho there are about 13,300 civilian federal workers — 2,500 of them Postal workers not affected by the shutdown.

Josh McKenna, chief of the Benefits Bureau at the Idaho Department of Labor, said it's estimated between 3,000 and 4,600 of the workers are furloughed. He said activity of those filing for unemployment has dramatically increased in the past week.

"We have seen 464 (workers statewide) file since the federal shutdown started on Dec. 22," he said on Friday morning, adding that 412 of those claims have been filed in the past week. "We have also noticed a lot of activity on our website (that's geared toward federal workers during the shutdown)."

Some federal employees in the region are spending time serving in other ways while being away from work.

Some Glacier National Park employees volunteered at the Flathead Food Bank in Kalispell last week. The National Park Service on Dec. 30 suspended services such as trash collection and road maintenance and announced plans to close certain parks.

The food bank, in turn, offered food donations to employees in need.

"They care about their community, and they want to be here," said Jamie Quinn, the food bank's executive director.

Laura Smith, Idaho Central Credit Union spokeswoman, said it can be a challenge to manage expenses without pay so businesses such as credit unions are offering assistance to federal employees who are feeling a pinch. Smith said her company is offering to waive fees on some assistance programs, attractive payroll advances, financial counseling and opportunities to delay loan payments for qualified members.

"We have worked to create individualized plans to help about 25 members (who are federal employees)," Smith said. "We have received about 100 calls from members (in all branches statewide). Most of them have had questions about what we have available and what we may be able to do to help them if the government shutdown is extended for a long time."

On a business level, Smith said some government loan programs have been affected by the shutdown, but the impact so far has been minimal.

Nonprofits brace for impacts

Some local nonprofits that work with federal agencies are feeling the interruption in that correspondence. Habitat for Humanity of North Idaho partners with HUD on projects, for instance.

"We have not had major problems yet, but the advice is not unavailable until they get back," said James Casper, Habitat's executive director.

Casper said Habitat does not receive federal funding, but he cited mortgage financing and occupancy rules as topics it corresponds with the feds on.

Bob Small, executive director of the Lake City Center, said senior centers receive federal funding for their nutrition programs and those dollars continue to flow.

"At this time agencies under Health and Human Services are fully funded and not affected by the shutdown," Small said. "The Idaho Commission on Aging has said nothing to let us think that situation will change."

Dan English, executive director of the Area Agency on Aging of North Idaho, said his agency hasn't felt any effects of the shutdown.

"However, the flow of federal money could come into play down the road," he said.

The shutdown is also causing volatility with citizens at large, including with spending.

Kim Wilson of Post Falls said she and her husband were searching for waterfront properties before the shutdown but have cooled their jets since the announcement.

"We have some friends who are really pouring into the stock market, but we're taking a more wait-and-see approach (on investments) now," she said. "We'll get back into it once things settle down a bit. That's what we're comfortable with."

Rick Durbin, owner of Silver Pine Wealth Management in Hayden, said he’s encouraging his clients to avoid knee-jerk reactions to the shutdown.

"We don't want them to focus on the noise or temporary events that could impact their long-term goals," he said. "We let them know that we are aware of the current events, but we want to stay focused on the fundamentals and long-term goals."