TITLE
Recommendation to request City Manager to work with the Economic Development Department to create a Fresh Start Long Beach Program that allows City Staff to allocate American Rescue Plan Act Funds to lessen the financial burden on Long Beach business owners who held valid Long Beach business licenses, were in good standing, were within those industries identified as the most impacted by COVID-19 restrictions, and who have not renewed that license due to closing the business as a direct result of COVID-19 hardships.
DISCUSSION
Long Beach has always been a city that has embraced entrepreneurship. It is also a city that prides itself in aiding those who need it. There is currently an opportunity to renew those commitments to Long Beach business owners who risked it all to follow their dream but lost it all due to an unforeseeable pandemic. Fresh Start Long Beach seeks to find funding to allow for our most effected businesses to emerge from a horrible situation with the least amount of financial burden. By doing so, we seek to strengthen the businesses’ love for Long Beach and foster a renewed desire to reinvest in this city.
As COVID-19 and its effects on our economy continue to impact our residents, the City of Long Beach continues to work diligently to lessen that impact through continued eviction moratoriums, rental assistance programs, Business License Tax and Fee Grants, and payment deferrals. There have also been partnerships when implementing Federal and State grant programs, loan application programs, and other financial tools to help people keep their homes and businesses throughout the pandemic. As we begin to emerge from COVID-19 (despite the Delta Variant providing further evidence for the need to be vaccinated), now is the time to pause and make sure that we have offered help to all who have been affected by this pandemic.
The immediate need for funding was to prioritize assistance to prevent residents from falling into homelessness and busine...
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