Plumas County announces release of business recovery grant program

Plumas County announces the release of the Microenterprise Business Assistance and Recovery Grant Program. The program is made possible with Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act funding from the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) through the Community Development Block Grant Coronavirus Aid (CDBG-CV) program of the US Housing and Urban Development (HUD), with a total of $409,462 available. To promote economic stability and to assist with eligible business expenses, the Program offers grants up to $50,000 per microenterprise business.

The Program will provide financial assistance to legal operating private ‘for profit’ microenterprise businesses in the unincorporated areas of Plumas County and within the City of Portola city limits who have been negatively impacted by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. CDBG regulations provide the following definition of a microenterprise business: a commercial enterprise that has five or fewer employees, one or more of whom owns the business. Employees are considered those that are paid by the microenterprise business and incur federal income tax withholdings from paychecks. With that said, even if the owner does not take a salary from the microenterprise business, the owner is considered and counted as an employee. Note, part-time employees (no matter how many hours worked) are considered as 1 employee, just as full-time employees count as 1 employee. Contractors and consultants are not considered employees.

Eligible uses of grant funds include reimbursement of costs for the following business activities incurred during the period that begins on March 13, 2020, and ends on May 11, 2023 (duration of the national disaster declaration COVID-19 Public Health Emergency):

• Reimbursement for up to 3 months of commercial lease or mortgage payments
• Reimbursement for up to one year of payroll (not including owner[s] salary) for LMI-eligible jobs (i.e., wage rates not to exceed $26.82/hour)
• Reimbursement for up to 3 months of utility payments
• Reimbursement for expenses related to supporting operational needs to address COVID-19 requirements for opening and operating (e.g., personal protective equipment and supplies, items related to public health and safety, and temporary distancing measures, or movable equipment)

Application deadline is July 31, 2023. Applicants are encouraged to apply as soon as possible. Applications will be reviewed on a first come, first served basis. For questions or clarifications on the Program, prospective program applicants can contact:

Tracey Ferguson

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