Waukesha Council To Discuss $225,000 Cares Act Community Grant

WAUKESHA, WI— The Waukesha Common Council will decide if they will accept a $225,000 Cares Act Community Development Block Grant for a Micro-Enterprise Grant program to assist small businesses impacted by COVID-19.

If the Council accepts the funds staff will launch the grant program in February. All of the funds are through federal Community Development Block Grants and have no impact on the city’s budget, according to city documents.

In 2020, Waukesha received a $225,000 grant and in October the Department of Community Development submitted an application to use a portion of these funds to create a Micro-Enterprise/Small Business COVID-19 Relief grant program.

The new program will not use any city budget dollars. It will be funded through the CDBGCV grant award. Staff will be using city staff time, but no City dollars will be used for grant awards, according to online records.

Since this is CDBG funds, they have the following limits on who can receive funds through this program:

• Must have five or fewer employees
• Must have been in business as of January 1, 2020.
• The owner of the business must have either a household or individual income at or below 80 percent of the2020 Waukesha County Median Income Level.
• The owner could still be eligible if their 2019 income was over the County Median Income Level but due to COVID-19, their income has dropped below the County Median Income Level.
• Verification will be based on either 2019 income or an average of the last 3 months income.

The Micro-Enterprise grant funds can only be used for expenses that have not already been funded through another program (federal, state, or local) and that were incurred as a direct result of COVID-19.

Eligible uses for grant funds include:

• Rent, mortgage, and utility assistance.
• Physical Improvements to your business in response to COVID-19.
• Purchase of equipment or materials due to COVID-19. This includes plexiglass, special cleaning/disinfectants, electrostatic sprayers, etc.
• Purchase of personal protective equipment. This includes masks, face shields, hand sanitizer, and disposable gloves.
• Marketing and advertising. Only costs that are directly related to COVID-19 response, such as online ordering, are eligible.

The city will create a detailed application and review process. Once the grant is completed, staff will report back to the Common Council and the Waukesha County Community Development Block Grant Board with a presentation outlining the number of businesses served, grant awards, and other metrics, city documents said.

The Common Council meets at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday.