Submitted by: Patrick A. Paschall
Submitting Department: Finance
Agenda Section: Consent
Item Title:
title
Small Business Emergency Relief Program Funding Increase
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Suggested Action:
recommendation
I move that the Mayor and Council allocate and authorize the expenditure of an additional $500,000 for the Small Business Emergency Relief program using American Rescue Plan Act funds, bringing the total allocation for Small Business Relief Programs under ARPA to $1,500,000.
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Summary Background:
On June 6, 2022 the City Council authorized the establishment of a Small Business Emergency Relief program to provide financial assistance to Hyattsville small businesses that experienced financial harm during the Covid-19 pandemic. The fund began with $900,000 dedicated to providing emergency relief payments to small businesses, with a plan to regularly review utilization and give the Council an opportunity to increase funding for this program if utilization warrants additional funding.
The program has been very successful. There are more than 500 licensed businesses in Hyattsville, with about half of them likely eligible for this emergency relief program.
Since the program opened in August, we have received 110 applications. To date, we have awarded 37 grants to small businesses totaling $545,000. At the time this memo was written, the sixth batch of applications is being processed, which will likely award an additional $185,000 to eligible applicants, bringing the total amount awarded to $730,000.
This does not include applications that are still under review, and some applicants may be eligible to reapply with a Hyattsville business address. If all the applications we have received are ultimately awarded, staff estimates an additional $180,000 in grant awards, bringing the total over the $900,000 allocated for the program.
In addition, staff continues to conduct outreach to businesses in our community, and expect to continue to see an increase in applica...
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