Reopening Expense Assistance for Montgomery County Businesses and Non-Profits

On July 7, the Montgomery County Council approved a special appropriation of $14 million to create the Reopen Montgomery Business Assistance Program. The program will reimburse County businesses and non-profit organizations that incur reopening expenses as part of their compliance with new state and county health regulations enacted in response to the COVID-19 public health crisis. The program’s funding will come from Public Health Emergency Grant funds and the federal CARES Act.

A business or non-profit organization is eligible to receive assistance from the Reopen Montgomery Business Assistance Program if it meets all of the following criteria:

• It is only physically located in the County or its County-based locations account either for more than 50 percent of the business’s total number of employees or 50 percent of the business’s total sales
• It employs 100 or less full-time-equivalent employees
• It has not received financial assistance from the County for reopening expenses related to the COVID-19 health crisis
• It has incurred reopening reimbursable expenditures between March 16, 2020 and 30 days following the County’s Phase Three reopening.

Reopening reimbursable expenditures are expenses incurred during reopening as part of compliance with Maryland and Montgomery County COVID-19 health regulations. Allowable expenses include, but are not limited to: personal protective equipment, materials to create barriers, dividers, protected areas, contactless payment systems, cleaning supplies, signage, outdoor furniture, and disposable food containers and utensils.

Each eligible business and non-profit may be granted up to $5,000 for reopening reimbursable expenditures. The award will be based on actual, verified expenses for each business and non-profit organization and will be administered through a rolling lottery system.

More information on deadlines and the application process will be distributed as it becomes available.

Additionally, if you received the PPP loan and are opting to claim loan forgiveness for certain expenses over a 24-week period rather than an eight-week period, here is a 24-week spreadsheet to help you keep track of how the loan is being allocated.

Business owners that have questions regarding the information noted above should contact their E. Cohen advisor.