CARES funds available

Posted on March 12, 2021

Taylor County’s second round of individual and small business assistance programs for those impacted by the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak will open to all eligible applicants beginning Monday, March 15.

An early application period opened this past Monday, March 8, for those who applied last year during the first round and were turned down. The second round has wider eligibility requirements for each program.

The Taylor County Commission allocated $450,000 for each program out of the $2.4 million in remaining funds the county received in 2020 through the federal CARES Act passed by the U.S. Congress last summer.

The county received a total of $3.7 million through the federal legislation, and prior to the latest programs, the county had approximately $2.4 million remaining.

The new programs do not have an end date on the application period and are scheduled to run until the allocated funds are exhausted. This second round of assistance is expected to last until the county begins receiving funds from the second federal stimulus bill passed by Congress in December, as well as any assistance provided by a third stimulus bill passed by Congress this week.

Both the individual and small business assistance programs will be overseen by Government Services Group (GSG), the consulting firm hired by the county last year to manage its CARES Act allocation.

GSG representatives will be at the Perry- Taylor County Chamber of Commerce office Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. until 4 p.m.

Application packets are available for pick-up at the Taylor County Administrative Complex (201 E. Green St.), Taylor County Public Library (403 N. Washington St.), Taylor County Grants Office (401 Industrial Park Drive) and the Perry-Taylor County Chamber of Commerce (428 N. Jefferson St.).

Applications are also available online at: www.taylorcountygov. com/cares/.

For more information on the assistance programs, call (850) 403-0600 or e-mail taylorcares@ taylorcountygov.com.

Under the new programs, individuals will be able to apply for a maximum of $5,000 for up to three months of rental, mortgage and/or utilities assistance.

Small business owners will be eligible for up to $10,000 in assistance.

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