The St. Johns Board of County Commissioners approved Phase I of a $46 million CARES Act funding program Tuesday that focuses on small business recovery, resident assistance and non-profit organizations.
The funding will help residents and businesses get back on their feet after a loss of revenue due to the coronavirus pandemic. $10 million was allocated to expand a Back to Business Grant Program. The funding for the program reinforces St. Johns County’s commitment to ensuring small businesses remain at the front of the economic recovery effort. The grant provides short-term financial assistance to those businesses that lost revenue due to COVID-19. The increase in funding to the program from the CARES Act will allow the county to expand the program and decrease the program criteria so that more businesses can be helped.
The CARES Act funding will also allow $3 million to be allocated to individual resident assistance programs that helped with mortgage payments, rent and personal expenses incurred due to COVID-19. The program will provide qualified residents with assistance to remain in their homes and continue on a path to economic recovery.
Local nonprofit agencies that have suffered from COVID-19 will also be able to apply for a portion of $5 million of the funding from the CARES Act. The Board of County Commissioners believes that "nonprofit organizations are an integral part of our community and their services are vital for our vulnerable residents."
Lastly, $2.5 million worth of funding from the CARES Act will go to expanding COVID-19 testing and contact tracing efforts and $1.5 million in funding will go to social distancing and decontamination programs. The program will also allocate $1.5 million in funding to the City of St. Augustine and $125,000 to the City of St. Augustine Beach for COVID-19 related expenditures.
