Lewiston may expand emergency relief for small businesses
The Lewiston City Council is scheduled to take up a proposal Tuesday night that would expand eligibility for the city’s Pandemic Emergency Small Business Loan Program, and offer new help specifically for landlords.
The program provides loans of up to $4,000 to assist small businesses trying to recover from effects of the crisis but don't easily qualify for loans, grants and other assistance from the city’s Community Development Block Grant program and federal CARES Act funds. But after launching last July, the program ended up assisting only three businesses, according to a city memo.
Feedback obtained by the Lewiston Economic Development Department showed strict eligibility requirements for the loans ruled out some applicants and deterred others from even applying. So now the city is loosening the restrictions.
Under the proposal, Lewiston would increase the limit on borrowers’ annual sales revenues from $2 million to $6 million, and would double the limit on the number of allowable employees from 50 to 100.
The proposal also would allow businesses that are delinquent on Lewiston property taxes to apply for a loan, as long as the overdue balance doesn’t exceed the loan amount.
In addition, the proposal calls for setting some loans aside for landlords that aren’t receiving owed rent during the pandemic.
“Some have expressed concern about paying for water and heating costs without this cash flow,” the city memo notes. “This problem is not unique to Lewiston, with many communities concerned about foreclosures and abandoned buildings due to lost revenue.”
Under the proposal, about a dozen $4,000 forgivable loans would be earmarked for eligible landlords of Lewiston properties with two to eight rental units.
The expanded program would provide a total of about $140,000 in financing, according to the city.
The council meets to workshop the proposal at 6 p.m., and must ultimately approve any expansion of the program. More information can be found here.
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