Mayor, council staff propose emergency loans, rental assistance and barricade funding to support businesses and workers affected by Main Street fire

Salt Lake City’s administration presented a multi‑part budget amendment Sept. 2 to support businesses and employees affected by a recent Main Street fire. The package includes a proposed emergency loan program for impacted businesses, a rental assistance allocation for displaced employees and a request for up to $80,000 in one‑time general‑fund spending on temporary pedestrian barricades.

The proposed emergency loan program would reactivate a previously used Economic Development Loan Fund model to provide bridge financing while businesses resolve insurance and reconstruction timelines. Staff described basic proposed terms: loans up to $100,000 per business, a two‑year deferral period followed by a five‑year amortization for repayment, collateral and personal guarantees as appropriate, and eligibility targeted to businesses with direct fire damage or demonstrable operational losses tied to the incident. Staff said the loans are intended to preserve businesses and jobs and to support reopening plans, not to fund long‑term capital reconstruction alone.

Separately, the administration proposed reallocating $100,000 from the RAFT (rental assistance) program to provide one‑time rental assistance to affected employees who rent in Salt Lake City and meet eligibility criteria. Under the staff proposal, full‑time employees could receive $2,000 and part‑time employees $1,000, subject to documentation of a valid Salt Lake City lease and a household income loss tied to the fire; public‑housing and Section 8 voucher holders would be ineligible because vouchers cover rent.

The administration also asked the council for a straw poll to authorize about $80,000 from the general fund for temporary barricades and pedestrian safety measures in the downtown corridor while reconstruction and clean‑up proceed; the council supported the barricade funding in a straw poll with six council members in favor and one absent.

Council members discussed goals and targeting. Some members urged that the loan program be tightly scoped so funds support reopening downtown businesses that commit to returning to the city or block; others said eligibility should be broad enough to help workers who lost wages. Staff noted that a CRA component and a separate disaster relief program will be handled through the CRA board and a CRA hearing, and that administration teams were coordinating to define eligibility and program outreach. No formal ordinance or appropriation was adopted at the work session; staff will return with final language and a public hearing date.