Legislator Lorigo establishes relief program to reimburse Erie County small businesses and non-profits for COVID-19 related expenses

Modified: July 23, 2021 8:24am

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Thursday, July 22, 2021

Erie County Legislator Joe Lorigo has passed a resolution directing $10 million in remaining 2020 CARES Act funding to reimburse small businesses and non-profits who spent money to combat the spread of COVID-19, including the purchase of sanitizer products, HVAC upgrades, PPE, and additional safety measures.

The resolution requires Erie County to accept applications from businesses and non-profits and award funding on a first-come, first-served basis through December 31, 2021 or until the funding runs out.  The resolution received the unanimous support of the Legislature Thursday afternoon.

Minority Leader Lorigo said, “In many cases, businesses and non-profits exhausted their own funds during the pandemic to keep up with COVID-19 safety guidelines and keep employees and customers safe. These entities spent tens of thousands of dollars while struggling to stay afloat. Our program would reimburse those organizations through an application process to be set up as soon as possible. I encourage any businesses or non-profit who believes they may be eligible to apply. In the meantime, proud to support small businesses and non-profits in Erie County and thank my colleagues for their support.”

 

Under the program, the following restrictions should apply:

  1. The business or entity was in operation for a minimum of 12 months prior to March 15, 2020 and the applicant submits an itemized list detailing their costs requested for reimbursement from March 15, 2020 through to present; 
  1. The business or entity has not already received reimbursement for the same COVID-19 expenses from Erie County, New York State, or the Federal Government; 
  1. All applicants shall be based in Erie County; 
  1. Government entities shall not be eligible for reimbursement under this program.
 

Eligible expenses will include:

  1. Purchase of Personal Protective Equipment for provision to employees or patrons; 
  1. Purchase of personal sanitizing materials for use by employees or patrons, whether it be hand sanitizer or cleaning products; 
  1. Purchase of glass or acrylic materials used to set up sneeze and cough guards; 
  1. Purchase of physical barriers and signage related to social distancing requirements; and 
  1. Upgrade of HVAC or other air handling system to include additional air filtering capabilities (i.e. UV or HEPA filtration).