“We’ve seen strong interest from our small businesses. In fact, business owners began lining up several hours before we started accepting applications on Tuesday,’ Kaelin said. “We received 36 applications in the first 30 minutes alone. They are very grateful for the support.”
The commissioners received $18.7 million in CARES Act funding and divided the $1.5 million for small businesses according to population. West Chester Twp. and Hamilton will receive $287,583 and $286,673, respectively. The smallest allocation is to Trenton for $60,681.
Eligible businesses must have fewer than 25 full-time equivalent employees, and no single grant can exceed $10,000. The money must be spent before Dec. 30.
The city of Fairfield was the first to approve a full-fledged plan, combining $196,518 from the commissioners and its council’s allocation for a total of $600,000. Kaelin said they developed a tiered approach to the grants allowing businesses with one to three employees up to $5,000, those with four to 10 employees can receive $7,500 and the rest up to $10,000.
West Chester Twp. opened their program on Monday and received 26 applications, according to Assistant Township Administrator Lisa Brown. However, not everyone followed the guidelines, she said. A few didn’t meet the financial parameter of revenues between $50,000 and $1 million and there were some requests from outside the township.
She said nine do not qualify, 12 applications need more information and the rest just came in so they have not yet been vetted. Most asked for the full $10,000 and some asked for even more.
Businesses must have had brick and mortar establishments in the township since January 2019 to receive reimbursements for things like rent, utilities and payroll, because they have to be able to document revenue losses. However, Brown said brand new businesses can qualify for reimbursements for personal protective equipment and other purchases made to fight the COVID-19 virus.
“We wanted to give two options because we realize small businesses, you know they may have just been a start-up and just got going and then here’s COVID and they are negatively affected,” Brown said. “So there’s two avenues for funding.”
The awards are given on a first-come, first-served basis and Brown said since all applications are online they are date and time stamped, they can be fairly prioritized.
Liberty Twp. Economic Development Director Caroline McKinney said they have received 30 applications since they opened the process Monday but they haven’t been reviewed yet. The guidelines for the two largest townships are very similar. Based on Liberty’s allocation of $179,701, they can award 17 top-dollar grants.
Other jurisdictions received approval from their elected officials this week ― Middletown on Tuesday and Fairfield Twp. on Wednesday. Middletown City Manager Jim Palenick said they began accepting applications Thursday and “we expect a robust level of interest.”
Unlike the first-come, first-served method, Middletown officials will score applications on a variety of criteria, such as whether the business has received any other financial assistance and whether they “have demonstrated efforts to decrease costs, generate new revenues or both in the COVID-19 environment.”
Hamilton Finance Director Dave Jones said they are still finalizing details on their program and hope to launch it before Thanksgiving. Businesses must demonstrate the pandemic has hurt them and other stipulations will be outlined in the applications. He said the city is fronting the money since it is a reimbursement program through the county.
“Applicants must meet the requirements to be approved and will be funded on a first-come, first-serve basis,” Jones said. “We are hopeful that successful applicants can receive funds within 10 business days of submission.”
About the Author
