Council Authorizes $850,000 in Small Business Grants

The Belton City Council passed a resolution Tuesday to make $850,000 in COVID-19 relief funds available in grants for Belton small businesses.

The funds are part of a $5.67 million allocation that Belton received from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. Applications are available online.

“We are a community of small businesses, and we want them to know that we support them,” Mayor Wayne Carpenter said.

The funds are intended to assist businesses financially impacted by COVID-19. The application period begins on Wednesday, May 11, and ends on June 3.

Eligibility requirements are:

Must be a Belton small business currently in operation;
Must have fewer than 100 employees;
Must have a physical location in Belton city limits;
Must demonstrate a negative impact from COVID-19;
Maximum one-time assistance is $20,000, with a minimum of $5,000; and
Assistance is available for any business, including ones which received other relief funding.

Eligible expenses include capital expenditures such as building renovations, kitchen equipment, office furniture, and equipment, environmental remediation, façade improvements, and sanitary enhancements. Salaries and operating expenses are ineligible.

While the application requires businesses to demonstrate an impact from COVID, funds can be spent prospectively, City Manager Sam Listi said.

The Central Texas Council of Governments (CTCOG) will administer the grant program, and a review panel of the Mayor, two councilmembers, and two staff members will make funding recommendations for Council consideration.

Previous commitments from Belton’s ARP allocation includes $1.2M for implementing the Compensation Study; $100,000 to pay delinquent City of Belton utility accounts; $300,000 for housing and utilities grants administered by the United Way of Central Texas; and $300,000 for Nutrition and Food Assistance Grants, which was passed as part of this meeting.