WAUSAU, WI (WSAU) — The city of Wausau is teaming up with MCDEVCO to offer over a quarter-million dollars in grants and potentially forgivable loans to local businesses that were impacted by COVID-19 related shutdowns.
“We are hoping to give 70 grants to make an impact. Especially to those businesses that didn’t get Paycheck Protection funds or some of those other funds. This will be a real boost,” said Mayor Katie Rosenberg.
Those grants would be fo up to $1,500 to help with overhead costs. An additional 20 loans of up to $20,000 could be made to businesses to help cover payroll expenses.
Those loans could become forgivable if certain criteria are met. Rosenberg adds that no taxpayer funds are being distributed as part of the program. Instead, the money comes from the federal CARES act as well as the Community Development Block Grant.
“It’s all federal funding that we have been able to reprogram. [Some has come] from the home renovation program that they run through the community development office. Some are also directly from the HUD office.”
Like other communities in Central Wisconsin, the money will be reserved for what Rosenberg calls “micro-businesses.” Meaning businesses of 10 or fewer employees that either were forced to close or had their operations significantly impacted during the Safer at Home order. The business must be non-franchised and for those with more than one location, the money can only be used to support operations at the Wausau site.
If a qualifying business received Paycheck Protection Program funding or other federal assistance, they cannot receive Wausau CARES funding.
Businesses can begin applying for the Wausau CARES funding on Thursday, May 28th through MCDEVCO’s website. The applications will be ranked on a 50-point scale to make sure the money goes to those that are most in need.
“We are seeing some of our- I call them micro-businesses- fall through the cracks on some of the bigger things. They just don’t have the same ability to apply for some of this stuff. So it is really important that they get a shot at this,” added Rosenberg.
The city has also approved deferred payments for all existing city-funded loans and leases. On Tuesday, leaders voted to reduce the cost of an annual liquor license for Class B and C establishments and a plan to allow more outdoor dining space for restaurants on select nights.
