Manatee working to help businesses bounce back from COVID-19. It could involve grants
As unemployment rises in Manatee County, a plan is underway to create new programs that strengthen the local economy.
The county’s largest business sectors — retail and service — were hit the hardest by coronavirus-related shutdowns and layoffs. Now, the Board of County Commissioners is considering helping them out with small business grants.
“More than half our economy is represented by those two industries, which is very important to keep in mind,” said Ruth Buchanan, an economic development manager in the county’s Redevelopment and Economic Opportunity Department.
Geri Lopez, Manatee’s REO director, said her team has been working as quickly as possible to reach out and check the pulse of businesses that have been devastated by the pandemic. There are several steps involved in the process of lending assistance to those businesses, she explained.
“We don’t have all the answers, but this is a framework,” said Lopez, who described the outreach and planning that has been underway since March. “This recovery will be like nothing else we have seen, as you all can imagine. There’s lots of components and lots of pieces and that’s why we need to work together to put the pie together.”
By the beginning of June, REO hopes to begin work-training programs that can get workers hired by some of the industries that are still hiring, such as health care manufacturing and e-commerce companies.
Some business owners need help, too, and the board is considering boosting them with grants that could help businesses reopen by complying with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s safety guidelines.
“The big thing in this room is funds,” Commissioner Vanessa Baugh said during Tuesday’s commission meeting. “People need help. Businesses need help.”
“I think for me, that’s one of the saddest things. Besides the fatalities and the sickness we’ve had, it’s watching these business owners go down,” she added.
A county-run grant program meant to prop up small businesses would be a prime opportunity to strengthen the economy, said Jacki Dezelski, CEO and President of the Manatee Chamber of Commerce.
“Businesses, particularly our smallest employers, sole proprietors and those that were the hardest hit by closures, can benefit from additional assistance to help them recover,” Dezelski said in an email to the Bradenton Herald.
“Finding more resources for businesses directly impacts their employees, too,” she continued. “For most, it is not as simple as ‘open the doors’ and you’re back to a positive cash flow. We look forward to working with the county on additional business resources.”
Grants for businesses won’t be approved unless the county has enough money in the budget to spare, board members said. In the meantime, REO put together a guide of business resources for COVID-19 at www.MyManatee.org/RecoverManatee.
According to Jan Brewer, the county’s director of financial management, COVID-19 has already cost the county nearly $2 million. About $350,000 of that may be eligible for federal reimbursement, but it could take years. Florida’s shared revenue funds are also taking a hit, which could put a hole in Manatee’s budget.
Commissioners were torn, however, on whether it’s the role of county government to prop up local businesses with taxpayer dollars.
“I’d love to help as many people as we can, but what is our responsibility? Are we supposed to use taxpayer dollars to help business people? I’m not sure,” said Commissioner Priscilla Whisenant Trace. “Also, we do have hurricane season coming. I’m very leery to touch our reserves because we don’t know what’s coming there, either.”
An emphasis should be placed on smaller businesses that have run out of options elsewhere, said Commissioner Stephen Jonsson.
“It’s the small businesses with less than 10 employees that maybe are never going to open again,” he noted. “We need to look at that closely, especially if we’re going to start giving out money.”
“What I’m trying to convey is that it isn’t all in yet. We don’t know the true impact yet,” Brewer said. “But we will continue to monitor.”
Brewer explained that her department is monitoring finances daily so that Manatee can “pivot” to budget needs. As part of that plan, commissioners voted unanimously to push back the dates for the budget approval process so that the financial situation is clearer when the budget is finally approved later this year.
