93.9 The Eagle – The News and Talk of Columbia, MO
Big bucks are officially on the way to help Columbia pay for costs tied to the coronavirus.
The city council on Monday night approved accepting $6,183,239.28.
“This is the CARES [Act] money that we received from Boone County for expenses already incurred for public safety, health, and some PPE,” city manager John Glascock says. “We also have a small amount in their for a small business recovery grant program.”
Up to $835,000 of the funds will go to businesses that did not use money from the federal paycheck protection program (PPP) for the same expenses.
“Now if they used PPP for costs that were covered back in April and June and they have additional costs that they can document that are unmet in additional need, then yes they can use these funds,” Columbia housing manager Randy Cole says.
Cole says the money could mean small business loans for 34 local companies. About $5 million of the CARES Act funds will go toward public health and safety expenditures that came up in 2020 because of the pandemic.
