City Council Agenda and Packet 2020 04 17 SP

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SUBJECT: EMERGENCY SOLUTIONS GRANT PROGRAM- UPDATE DATE: APRIL 17, 2020 PAGE 2 OF 3 • Revised the section headers on Applicant and Business Information; added clarifying narrative about what is used as criteria • Added question on frequency of filing Sales and/or Use Tax (monthly, quarterly, yearly) • Revised the Sustainability section to be Other Information; added narrative that this is data to help inform future support, not criteria. Applicants are not required to answer this section to be considered a complete application • Eliminated question on percentage profit decline • Moved question on mandates from Executive Orders to Other Information • Revised question on profit decline to be revenue decline from March 2019 to March 2020 • Eliminated question about business owner investing own funds • Moved Acknowledgements/Signature up ahead of Other Information to more closely tie it to the criteria and emphasize what must be submitted • Removed "employment and/or" from the Acknowledgment about impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic • Added "in Louisville" to business -related expenses Acknowledgement From a process standpoint, staff continues to work on the ways to intake, evaluate, and approve applications based on the application draft. Economic Vitality will be the lead on program administration, but we also anticipate assistance from the City Clerk's Office and the Sales Tax Division of the Finance Department. Since grant applications will be due by end of business day on Friday, April 24, we will be able to assess the pool of applicants and begin work the week of April 27. While we do not know exactly how many applications we will receive, our discussions and data analysis lead us to believe the eligible applicant pool is under 400 Louisville businesses. With the appropriate procedures in place, I hope we can complete the application review and issue checks to those approved in early May. Because it is a defined application period and not a rolling first -in, first -approved process, we will need time to review all applications and confirm eligibility and then apply the criteria for decisions. Staff is already also working on the communications strategy to support the grant program and inform our business community. If the program is approved on April 17, we will make immediate notification and then roll out promotions beginning Monday, April 20, including website, email, social media, etc. To facilitate these efforts, staff asks that City Council affirm the program title, since this was not decided at the EVC meeting. Staff has the program with a working title of "Emergency Solutions Grant Program." Councilmember Dickinson suggested the program have an acronym, LASER, which stands for "Louisville Aid for Stabilization and Economic Recovery for Small Businesses." CITY COUNCIL COMMUNICATION