Paducah Approves Economic Stimulus And Small Business Relief Fund

Press release from the City of Paducah:

March 31, 2020

At its March 31 meeting, the Paducah Board of Commissioners approved an emergency ordinance that contains several elements to combat the financial impact the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) is having on local businesses. This emergency ordinance provides the following four elements:

Small Business Relief Fund: Authorizes the Finance Director to appropriate $150,000 for the first round of applicants for the Small Business Relief Fund Program. This is a partnership among the City of Paducah, West Kentucky Community & Technical College, and the Community Foundation of West Kentucky.

Small businesses, that are not a franchise or franchise-affiliated, with 25 or fewer employees and a brick-and-mortar presence within the Paducah city limits may be eligible to apply for the funds. During this first round of funding, the first 75 eligible businesses will receive grants of $2000 each. The Small Business Relief Fund Application (check back at 8am on April 1 for link) which includes all of the guidelines will be available through April 10 at 4:30 p.m. The funds must be used for expenses limited to rent, mortgage, payroll, and utilities. If you are a business and have questions about the application process, call the City of Paducah Planning Department at 270-444-8701.

A second round of funding will be opened at a later date with funding based upon the amount of donations to the Community Foundation which will be matched by the City of Paducah up to $100,000. If you would like to donate to the Small Business Relief Fund, contact the Community Foundation of West Kentucky or call 270-442-8622.

Deadline Changed for Business License Tax Filing: Postpones the filing of the annual Gross Receipts License Tax (Business License Tax) to July 15, 2020, for calendar year filers. July 15 is the same deadline that has been adopted recently by the State of Kentucky and the Internal Revenue Service as a replacement for the April 15 deadline.

Commercial Solid Waste Collection: Establishes a 50% price reduction for solid waste collection fees for commercial (non-residential) rollouts and commercial dumpsters. This fee reduction is in effect for commercial solid waste collection services during the months of April and May 2020. The City Manager is granted authority to extend this for two additional months as deemed necessary.

Taxicab Driver’s License Renewal Waiver: Waives the renewal requirement for taxicab licenses until July 1, 2020. The City Manager is granted authority to extend this for two additional months as deemed necessary.

This press release was produced by the City of Paducah. The views expressed here are the author’s own.