Montgomery County's $25M Emergency Fund, Explained

BETHESDA, MD — Last week, Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich announced that he was considering a $25 million emergency economic assistance fund in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

The structure of the fund hadn't been fleshed out at the time, but the Democrat revealed that $20 million would go to struggling small businesses, nonprofits, and county residents and $5 million would help cover residents' food, housing, and childcare costs.

"When this crisis begins to end, and things begin to go back to normal-ish, we need to make sure that small businesses can open their doors and resume business," Elrich said on Friday. "And two things have to happen: They've got to survive through a period of closure or limited operations and then they have to be able to survive getting open again."

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Less than a week later, the county council introduced a bill that would establish the emergency economic assistance fund.

Here's what you need to know about the bill.

Expedited Bill 16-20 is an emergency action that creates a Public Health Emergency Grant Program in the existing Economic Development Fund. It was introduced on Tuesday to help residents and businesses weather the economic downturn due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Through the grant program, local businesses and nonprofits with 100 or fewer full-time employees can apply for grants of up to $75,000.

Local businesses and nonprofits can also receive mini-grants of up to $2,500. According to county officials, these mini-grants would help cover the costs associated with employee teleworking during the public health crisis.

In order to receive financial assistance, a local business must enter into a grant agreement with the county. The agreement must include conditions related to:

• the county's right to audit the grantee's financial records
• the grantee's reporting obligations to the director of the Department of Finance
• the grantee's obligation to remit any improperly used or unused funds to the county

A public hearing on the bill is scheduled for March 31.

SEE ALSO:

• How To Help Montgomery County Businesses During Outbreak
• $25M Emergency Small Business Fund Being Considered In MoCo
  
• Safeway Is Hiring In Montgomery County During Coronavirus Crisis
• $260K Being Considered To Support Food Insecure Families In MoCo