Westminster, MD, Wednesday, April 1, 2020 – Yesterday in Open Session, the Carroll County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously to establish a Carroll County Small Business COVID-19 Emergency Relief Grant Fund. The fund, in the amount of $500,000, will offer working capital to assist Carroll County small businesses with disrupted operations due to COVID-19. Grant assistance is intended to provide interim relief to businesses while complementing actions taken with their bank, business interruption insurance, financial institution, as well as federal and state partners.

A formal process for the grant is currently being established with general terms and conditions, and application details to be developed in the next days. The county and Department of Economic Development will announce more information as plans are finalized. Interested businesses should watch for information via the Department of Economic Development website at www.carrollbiz.org.

“I’m glad we have a plan to move forward in providing some additional financial assistance to our Carroll County small business community,” said Board of Commissioner Vice President Ed Rothstein. “I look forward to working with our economic development and comptroller staff to iron out the final details and reach out to the business community with next steps.”

Director of Economic Development Jack Lyburn stated, “In this extraordinary time of business disruption due to COVID-19, we feel it is critical to provide some level of financial support to help small businesses survive and we thank the Carroll County Board of Commissioners for their leadership in authorizing the use of these funds for small business grants.”

Yesterday’s Open Session is available for viewing on the county meeting portal and the county YouTube channel. In addition, all meetings will be replayed on Comcast Channel 24.