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Council weighs supplemental funding as demand outpaces Umatilla small-business grants
Summary
City staff warned that two small-business grant pools (local business and downtown revitalization) are nearly exhausted after strong application volume and will return to council with options for supplemental funding or prioritization to cover pending awards.
City staff told the Umatilla City Council on Nov. 5 that two small-business grant programs are seeing greater demand than budgeted and may require a one-time budget adjustment.
Staff explained the local business grant allocation was reduced during the current budget to $150,000 and the downtown-revitalization pool to $100,000. To date staff reported $94,246.25 awarded from the local-business fund with about $55,000 remaining and three pending applications totaling roughly $82,500. That leaves an estimated shortfall of about $26,000 if all pending applications qualify. The downtown program currently has one application pending and staff estimate additional interest could create nearly $25,000 in additional demand.
Staff proposed options: bring a supplemental budget adjustment to cover the gap in the short term, use operational contingency to temporarily underwrite reimbursements, or score and prioritize pending applications to distribute remaining funds. Staff said reimbursements are on a reimbursement basis (applicants submit invoices after project completion), so timing of reimbursements could influence the fiscal impact.
Councilmembers expressed support for helping new businesses and asked staff to return with a recommendation and specific options, including whether to award some applicants in part or to wait until the spring supplemental-budget review. Staff said they would bring a recommendation at a future meeting with scoring and prioritization options.
Next steps: Staff will prepare options for council consideration, including a supplemental appropriation or prioritized awards, and will present them within the next one or two council meetings.
