SAN ANTONIO – Bexar County Commissioners will make available $5.25 million in loans for small businesses in the area to keep them afloat during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The action by the commission was taken on March 24.
"If we can stop a spike, they will be able to hand it, but if we can't stop a spike and it spikes on us, then we really got a big problem," Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff said in a Fox San Antonio report.
Wolff and other commissioners said loans would go quickly with so many businesses impacted by the stay-at-home order.
In addition to the loans, $250,000 in grants for small businesses with three employees or fewer will be provided. Owners of companies of such size are advised to see if they qualify for grants and could get as much as $5,000 to go toward the payroll of their employees.
The program is being administered by LiftFund, a San Antonio-based small business finance nonprofit.
According to the FOX report, members of the commission said it's a fluid situation and there’s a chance that the program could be expanded. County lawmakers are also looking for more ways to financially help charities on the front lines, assisting people most susceptible to the virus, such as the elderly.
LiftFund will reportedly receive $400,000 for administrative costs over four years, bringing the total cost of the program to $5.65 million.
“The goal of the loans and grants isn’t to make sure a business owner is whole,” Bexar County Economic and Community Development Executive Director David Marquez told a reporter for KSAT. “It’s rather to ensure employees can keep their jobs.”
Marquez agreed he expects there will be more demand for the loans and grants than money available.
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