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Small Business Emergency Assistance Program <br />Economic Development Commission; 8-5-20 <br /> <br /> <br />Page 10 <br />SUGGESTED TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION / RECOMMENDATIONS <br /> Need for the program(s) – given the available Small Business Relief Fund grants available through the County <br />($15M overall, and $7M being released in Round 2 later this month), does the EDC feel a local business grant <br />program is also needed? Are you hearing from businesses who are still in need? Do we need to supplement <br />existing programs to provide further coverage for our own local businesses? <br /> Approach feedback – staff is suggesting that in order to set up programs both quickly and correctly, we need to <br />employ outside partners. Open To Business would be our partner for business grants. Administrative costs to <br />run the program are an eligible cost of the Cares Act funds, and can be up to 8% of the program cost. We would <br />propose our administrative fee be consistent with the fee paid by others already involved in similar programs <br />with OTB. <br /> Minimum and Maximum grant amounts – should strike an appropriate balance between the amount of funding <br />needed to adequately supply working capital to actually be of help to businesses while maximizing the number <br />of grants that can be provided. Programs in other Cities typically range from $1500 at the low end up to <br />$10,000 on the high end. <br /> Funding Phases – what criteria should determine our highest priority recipients followed by subsequent phases <br />(assuming the program kicks off in late August, we could presumably have three or four funding windows) <br />o The County focused on small businesses with 20 or fewer employees in Round 1. <br />o Round 2 will continue to cover businesses eligible in Round 1, but now also includes sole proprietors and <br />those contributing to the local creative economy. According to Rick Howden at Ramsey Council, Round 2 <br />will be a random draw, so our program can hopefully catch any of our businesses who are not funded <br />through the County’s lottery. The County is not sure there will be future funding rounds at this point. <br />o County application process included a waiver allowing applications to enter the City system if they do not <br />get funding. As OTB is administering the County program, we’ll have immediate access to those <br />applications. <br /> Additional Funding Criteria Needed? Is there anything specific that should definitely preclude funding (i.e. <br />illegal structures or activities)? Anything information not currently requested that should be? Anything that <br />should signal priority funding? <br />If ultimately approved by Council, staff will work with the City’s legal counsel to take the legal steps necessary to get <br />the programs established, and will promote the programs via our website and social media. Legal counsel <br />anticipates programs could be operating by the end of this month.