Wayne County Economic Development and Planning has been closely monitoring the current business situation and are actively working to share information and provide guidance for our local small businesses.
The Federal Small Business Administration (SBA) opened two assistance programs including the Payroll Protection Program (PPP) and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) Program offering assistance to companies to maintain payroll and assist in recovery.
The SBA is still accepting new Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) and EIDL Advance applications on a limited basis only to provide relief to U.S. agricultural businesses.
“I applaud the SBA on their quickness to get assistance programs out there, and can appreciate the work involved in quickly responding, as well as the massive amount of work to accept, process, and approve funding,” said Tanya Hasseler, Business Outreach Coordinator for Wayne County Economic Development and Planning.
New York State has new guidance coming out daily for businesses, including a recently released tool to view business restrictions or approvals based on NAICS code. Last week New York State prepared phases, guidelines and templates for industries. This information is a valuable tool to helping businesses create a plan that is comprehensive and specific to their business.
The Wayne Economic Development Corporation has loan programs currently available to assist our local businesses. These are not new programs, but are available to help in economic recovery and to bridge the gap in getting back to economic stability. Loans can be made for up to $150,000 and can be amortized for up to 10 years. Funds may be used for working capital, inventory purchases, machinery and equipment, furniture, fixtures, supplies, leasehold improvements, or building renovation/rehabilitation.
“Another key part of our situation will be recovery. This will require long term strategies and resources to assist and support plans. Many regional partners are working with us on these efforts,” explained Hasseler.
So, what recommendations can be made for small businesses?
1. If you haven’t already, apply to the SBA PPP program. It’s still your best source for funding assistance given the opportunity for forgiveness. New guidelines removing some restriction on use of funds were recently released and can be found here https://www.sba.gov/document/sba-form--paycheck-protection-program-loan-forgiveness-application
2. If you are an agricultural business consider applying for the SBA EIDL. The application can be found here: https://covid19relief.sba.gov/#/
3. Start your plan. Guidance that is industry specific as well as a safety plan template can be found here: https://forward.ny.gov/industries-reopening-phase
4. Stay connected. Review the County’s Economic Development website and social medial resources. They are updating the website daily with new updates regarding loans, grants and reopening guidance. Updates to the website are at: https://web.co.wayne.ny.us/index.php/wayne-county-economic-development-planning-landing/
5. If federal assistance programs are not working for you, reach out for help. The SBA is working daily to get as much assistance out as they can. Try and be patient. The County office is more than willing to discuss your situation and discuss how they can get you through this difficult time.
6. Share your thoughts and concerns. There is a survey on the website. They are trying to gauge the needs of local businesses in the light of COVID-19 and to explore opportunities to assist local business. All responses are confidential.
Call Tanya Hasseler to follow up on information, questions or concerns, or interests. Wayne County Economic Development & Planning Office: 315-946-5975 or email: THasseler@co.wayne.ny.us
