Tega Cay council OKs $200,000 in ARPA relief for local small businesses, tables eligibility rules for next month

The Tega Cay City Council voted unanimously on Dec. 16 to allocate the remaining $200,000 of the city’s American Rescue Plan Act funds to local small businesses, setting the dollars aside for grants to businesses that were operating before the COVID disruption and remain active today.

Council members debated program parameters for more than an hour but chose to table final rules until staff consolidates the discussion into a written application. Council directed staff to prepare a draft application reflecting council priorities — including whether to include brick-and-mortar and home-based businesses, nonprofit eligibility, a cap on awards, and employee‑count thresholds — and circulate it for review in January.

Why it matters: The allocation moves the money from a reserved ARPA balance into a program designed to help businesses that missed earlier federal relief. Council members emphasized making the process straightforward and fairly targeted to city‑licensed enterprises.

What was decided: A councilmember moved to allocate the remaining $200,000 to small businesses “in accordance with the criteria approved by city council,” and the motion passed without opposition. Later discussion produced a range of preferences: several councilmembers supported a $10,000 maximum award per business and urged that applicants hold a valid city business license dating back to 2019 (staff suggested using the May 1, 2019 business-license year as a cutoff). Council also suggested excluding businesses that already received PPP, EIDL, or other SBA COVID relief so the city money helps those who did not receive prior assistance.

What remains unresolved: Council did not adopt final eligibility language. Members debated the employee‑count cutoff (options mentioned during the discussion included 50, 100, and the 500 figure that appears in the federal Small Business Act); many favored 100 full‑time‑equivalent employees as a reasonable upper bound to avoid excluding restaurants with seasonal or part‑time staff. Council ultimately voted to table the criteria to allow staff to draft a clean application.

Next steps: Staff will compile council’s choices into a written application and circulate it to council for review. Staff plans to push the application to licensed businesses around January 6 and will post details on the city website; council asked staff to prioritize targeted outreach to in‑city license holders to reduce out‑of‑jurisdiction applications. Council scheduled the eligibility vote and adoption for the next meeting after review.

Council quotes: Councilmember Carmen, who noted a potential conflict of interest, told colleagues, “As a business owner, I am not going to be participating … in any requesting for any of those funds so that I can continue to participate in the discussion and the vote.”

Outcome: Motion to allocate $200,000 in remaining ARPA funds to local small businesses — approved unanimously. Motion to finalize criteria — tabled to next month for staff to return a consolidated draft.

Authorities and provenance: The ARPA program referenced is the American Rescue Plan Act; the conversation also referenced the Small Business Act’s 500‑employee threshold as a starting benchmark for discussion. Topic first appears at SEG 233 and related material continues through SEG 974.