Bloomington Mayor John Hamilton says 31 local businesses have completed an application for a loan from the city since funds became available last week.
He says another 100 local businesses are working on their applications for money from the fund.
The city has allocated $2 million from what it has collected on a 1 percent food and beverage tax customers have been paying at local establishments for two years. The money is meant to provide financial relief to local establishments during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Hamilton says the loans are meant to help businesses get through the coming months, and small businesses should still apply for federal assistance to get grants.
“The federal program, which is much bigger, does allow for forgivable loans if small businesses use the proceeds for the right purposes," he says. "What we’re really trying to do is bridge loans to help people get to that federal money, which is so important.”
There are federal loans, like the Paycheck Protection Program, which will be forgiven if the money is used to keep employees on payroll.
Hamilton says the city hopes to get some outside funding that will increase the funds the city has available for loans.
He says businesses have dramatically changed their sales models to adapt to the pandemic.
"In a regular year in Bloomington, businesses open and close," he says. "That is a typical rhythm that we're going to see. What we don't want to have happen is is a bunch of potentially successful businesses fail because a cash flow problem in the coming months."
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