At a special meeting Friday afternoon, the Greenville County Council approved the proposed plan for allocation of the CARES Act funds the county received.
The proposed plan split the $91 million that the county received into several sections, the largest of which was meant to aid local small businesses.
A total $75 million was allocated to allow businesses to apply for between $5 and $10 thousand depending on the business's number of employees to help cover expenses caused by COVID-19.
From that $75 million, $5 million is set aside specifically for minority-owned businesses. These are classified in the plan as "small businesses that are at least 51% owned by one or more individual(s) who are both socially and economically disadvantaged."
Small businesses will be able to apply for this money online. County Administrator Joseph Kernell said that, financially, most businesses will be able to receieve the funding after applying.
The remaining $16 million are being allocated to help medical facilities, housing and rental assistance, “county-related” reimbursements, and other COVID-related expenses.
Of that, $3.85 million is being set aside as supplemental funding to allow for flexibility in the plan and to use should unexpected expenses arise.
District 21 Councilman Rick Roberts voted against the plan however, referring to the lack of feedback from citizens. The plan was only just released to the public earlier on the same day that the meeting to vote on it took place.
While the actual plan was mostly agreed upon being good, the main point of contention came surrounding the desire for greater transparency with public during the planning process.
Despite these concerns, the plan was still passed with a vote of nine to three in favor of it