_{Thumbnail: Marina MacNeil and Dominique Richcreek, staff members at Pacific Pantry, distributes food in Smith River in this September 2024 photo. Pacific Pantry has expanded its hours in the wake of uncertain SNAP benefits as a result of the federal government shutdown. | File photo by Jessica Cejnar Andrews}

Crescent City Councilor Jason Greenough argued that writing to the U.S. senators who represent California, urging them to help end the federal government shutdown wasn’t political.

In response to concerns from his colleague Candace Tinkler, Greenough pointed to the disruption in food stamps, potential impacts to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, which funds the Crescent City Housing Authority, as well as federal employees who are going without pay.

“Our senators have both decided to continue to vote to keep the government shutdown,” Greenough told his colleagues on Monday. “So we at least need to have a discussion about communicating with them to hopefully get this fixed if it is still shut down by our next meeting.”’

City Manager Eric Wier agreed to bring a report back to the City Council at its next meeting.

The current federal government shutdown began on Oct. 1 and is now in its 36th full day, according to NPR. Republicans control both the House and the Senate, but need 60 votes to pass a spending bill in the Senate. However, Democrats are using that bill as leverage to extend Affordable Care Act subsidies due to expire at the end of the year, NPR reported Wednesday.

In Del Norte County, the shutdown has threatened the Essential Air Service program that allows Advanced Air to fly into and out of the region. Attorney review for two U.S. Maritime Administration grant-funded projects at the Crescent City Harbor, the reconstruction of Citizens Dock and a seawall, has been delayed.

Perhaps the most concerning aspect of the federal government shutdown locally, however, is the suspension of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits for the month of November. According to Ranell Brown, director of the Del Norte County Department of Health and Human Services, about 3,900 households rely on SNAP benefits.

While the Trump administration has said it will re-start SNAP benefit payments — after it received pushback from two federal judges — they’ll be delayed and it may only be half of what people typically get, NPR reported.

On Monday, Tinkler said she didn’t think it was the City Council’s role to take one political position over another.

“I certainly agree that it’s not doing any good for anyone to be in a government shutdown,” she said. “But I have real concerns that we’re making sure there’s no political motivation behind it.”

Greenough said he wanted to draft a letter informing U.S. senators Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff about the impact the loss in SNAP benefits and “other issues” is having on Crescent City. 

“My motivation behind this is people can get fed, people can live their lives and people can get paid for their work,” he told Tinkler. “That’s not a political position.”

Mayor Ray Altman said he was “confident” that the Council could be nonpartisan.

According to Wier, the impacts the federal government shutdown has on the grants the city relies on varies. He also said that Housing Authority funding from HUD is secured “for at least this month and then we will see what happens in the future.”

Wier pointed to the potential impact to the Essential Air Service program, which has been funded through Nov. 18.

“A lot of those areas aren’t directly through the city, but we can try to make some outreach to see what information we can bring back to the Council, certainly the areas that are within our purview,” he said.