Ohio lawmakers, Portage County roll out financial relief for small businesses impacted by COVID-19 surge
By Molly Heideman and Michael Indriolo
Although the pandemic initially shuttered all three of the bars he owns in Kent, Mike Beder got two of them back up and running before Kent State University students returned for the Fall semester.
“My philosophy is that we’re not gonna try and grab a quick buck during this and do something that will not allow us to move forward,” Beder said. “We’re gonna weather the storm, do what we have to do to keep people safe and to keep all our licenses and keep operating. And we’re gonna make it out on the other side.”
But not without losses. His bars — Water Street Tavern, Venice Cafe and Franklin Hotel Bar — all took financial hits, he said. He had to cut hours at Venice and Water Street, and Franklin Hotel Bar can’t viably open until after the pandemic subsides. Beder sought financial help. He got it through the CARES Act, but it put him in an uncomfortable position.
As part of the application for CARES Act relief through the city of Kent, Beder said he had to ask his employees to sign paperwork indicating they are “low-income” and to provide their household income to back that up.
“That’s none of my business, you know?” he said. “And I hated asking them if they’d fill it out. And there was a couple who declined, and I had enough of them that I could respect that, and it didn’t become an issue. But it, just very intrusive.”
But Beder acknowledged the city’s need to make sure only those who’ve really taken financial hits receive assistance. Despite legal restrictions challenging his bars’ operations, he recognized navigating the restaurant and bar industry during the pandemic presents no easy solutions.
When asked what he thinks lawmakers should keep in mind while drafting pandemic-related legislation that impacts small businesses, Beder emphasized his employees’ needs. Although lawmakers generally mean well, he said, “I think they should realize that we have a payroll to make, and that we have people to keep employed.”
To help small businesses make payroll, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced an additional $419.5 million CARES Act package last week. In addition to small businesses and restaurants, the package provides financial relief to hospitals, higher education institutions, the arts, nonprofits, and low-income Ohioans impacted financially by the pandemic.
The new funding comes while nearly all of Ohio’s counties remain at either orange or red threat levels. An orange threat level means that a given county is experiencing a dangerous amount of general community spread, while a red threat level indicates a county is experiencing an influx in hospital visits, said Portage County’s Homeland Security and Emergency Management Director Ryan Shackelford. He attributed Portage County’s red status to more people visiting hospitals for testing, but said that most of those tested go home and quarantine rather than stay in hospitals for treatment.
“We’re not seeing anybody stay in the hospital,” Shackelford said. “We’re not seeing people go to the ICU. We’re not seeing high ventilator use. So because we’re not meeting those other metrics that move us from a deeper red or to a purple, then that’s kind of what’s keeping us at bay.”
Shackelford has remained “attached at the hip” to the Portage County branch of University Hospitals since the beginning of the pandemic. While some were concerned about the hospital’s bed capacity in the Spring, he said UH Portage has adjusted well. Portage County has secured a good stock of personal protective equipment and developed a sturdy COVID-19 response network through collaboration among its public health agencies, emergency management agencies, nonprofit organizations and the hospital, he said.
“Things are working, and we respond to disruptions accordingly,” Shackelford said. “But one thing is the foundational thing of any incident: As long as we work collaboratively, it doesn’t mean we’ll all get along at the right time, or that we won’t have disagreements. But as long as we work collaboratively towards responding to the incident, generally, you’re going to fare much better if than you didn’t.”
But some of the county’s small businesses have still struggled. The Ohio Small Business Relief grant, funded by $125 million of the recently announced CARES Act money, provides small businesses with $10,000 grants. Portage County in particular has around $500,000 from this grant to disperse among eligible businesses.
“It’s for small businesses between one and 25 employees, and they have to have been in business since January one of this year,” said Tom Wilke, Economic Development director for the city of Kent. “What an eligible applicant has to do is demonstrate … that they either suffered revenue loss or had additional expenses because of the pandemic.”
The state set aside even more money for bars and restaurants that continue to struggle as the number of COVID-19 cases per capita has surged in Portage County and Ohio as a whole. A $37.5 million Ohio Bar and Restaurant Assistance Fund provides $2,500 grants for all liquor permit holders that apply for it. Wilke said the grant will have a huge impact on businesses.
“It’s specifically for liquor permit holders, and it sounds like the easiest grant ever to get,” Wilke said. “All you have to demonstrate is you still have an active liquor license, and you automatically get a $2,500 grant.”
Despite the rising COVID-19 levels in Portage County, Jobs and Family Services received a number of budget cuts in state funding. Sue Brannon, budget and finance administrator for Jobs and Family Services, said cutting state funding will dramatically affect what they as a department can do.
“I’m a little disappointed in the fact that our budget, our funds, were cut,” Brannon said. “Seeing the state that we’re in, our business is those that are in need and the pandemic is only going to make it worse for those people that are in need.”
For fiscal year 2021, Jobs and Family Services will receive around $3.2 million, which is almost $300,000 less than they received in fiscal year 2020. Brannon said these funds are essential to helping those in need.
Initially, the state budget provided a raise in funding for Portage County Jobs and Family Services, but once the pandemic hit, those funds were cut drastically.
“Just because these funds that were cut were not COVID-related funds, they’re still funds that we need to operate on a daily basis and we need to get our citizens of our county what they need,” Brannon said.
As COVID-19 levels rise in Portage County, how is the state of Ohio providing relief?
— Molly Heideman (@mollyhjmc) October 28, 2020
Read more: https://t.co/KSyxbCyIuO
Ohio lawmakers and Portage County roll out financial relief for small businesses impacted by COVID-19 surgehttps://t.co/eZcdCoT2Fn
— Michael Indriolo (@ikeyindr) October 28, 2020
Who did what:
Michael interviewed Ryan Shackelford and Mike Beder, created their respective soundbites, and took the lead photo
Molly interviewed Sue Brannon and John Wilke, created their respective soundbites and created the infographic
Both wrote up parts of the story corresponding to the people they interviewed and contributed to overall structuring