City opens up local business grants
By Melinda L. Lucas
Up to $50,000 in aid to local small businesses was approved by the Albany city council in an emergency meeting on Tuesday morning, with council members expressing concern for the future of local retailers.
Last week, city manager Billy Holson said that he had asked the directors of the Albany Economic Development Corporation to release funding for a “Business Rescue Grant,” and they had agreed to support the program.
The EDC revenue comes from receiving back a portion of local sales tax, and state law will allow for the funding to be expended through the grants, Holson explained.
He presented a draft of the grant application for the council to review, stating that the money is meant to help business owners who have had to close, lay off employees, limit operations, or have been otherwise negatively impacted by the -COVID-19 pandemic.
Grants will range from $1,000 to $5,000, with awards decided by an appointed committee.
“We have asked people to restrict how they do business and to shut down completely,” said Holson. “Some businesses are really strapped for funds, and it’s hard just paying for utilities.”
The city manager said that decisions will be based on several factors, including amount of sales tax generated, number of employees, degree of financial need, and the timeline of application submission.
“It’s not going to depend on any one item,” Holson said. “For example, hair salons don’t bring in a lot of sales tax, but we’ve shut them down completely, and they don’t have any revenue.”
To qualify for the grant, businesses must be in the Albany city limits and can not be a national chain or part of a franchise associated with a parent company. The company must employ 10 or fewer employees.
The business rescue grant program was approved on a motion by James Waters, seconded by Lester Galbreath.
A deadline of Monday, May 11 was set for applications to be received, but because funding is limited, business owners are urged to apply as soon as possible.
The committee may meet as early as next week, depending on how many applications are received in the next few days.
The three-page form includes more information and requirements for the grant process, and can be requested by calling Albany City Hall at 325-762-3133 or sending an email to billyholson@albanytexas.org.
“I don’t see people getting back to normal any time soon, and even a little bit of money provided by this grant will help,” said Holson. “We care about our community, and we want to help as much as we can.”
He added that the plan had been put together quickly in order to get funding out as soon as applications could be approved.
“I hope we’ve covered all the bases, but we will probably miss someone,” he said. “No plan is 100 percent perfect, and I hope people will understand that.”
