Utica announces first round of economic-stimulus loans

UTICA, N.Y. — Utica Mayor Robert Palmieri on Thursday announced the first round of loans for local businesses that applied for the city’s economic-stimulus loan program.

The program was designed as a safety net for local businesses that were not eligible for federal assistance. As of Thursday, the city received 91 eligible applications and 63 of those businesses were able to secure federal assistance.

All of the remaining 28 applications have been approved for a no-interest loan that can convert to a grant “if certain criteria are met.”

The City of Utica did not name any of the businesses that it approved for the loans.

“I am pleased that many businesses in our community were able to secure federal assistance. Our administration designed the economic stimulus loan program to ensure that businesses that weren’t eligible for federal assistance didn’t fall through the cracks. We are still taking applications, and I encourage Utica business owners to apply,” Palmieri said.

The City of Utica says it still has funding available and is accepting applications on a rolling basis. The criteria and guidelines of the loan program are listed below.

Guidelines

To qualify, a business first must be located in the city of Utica.

It must also have 25 or fewer employees, and funding is “tied to the retention of low to moderate-income employees,” the city said in a release.

The maximum loan amount for an individual business is $10,000. All loans will have zero interest.

A loan can convert to a grant if a business meets “specific criteria,” including business owners keeping their staff on payroll (funds are not meant to replace lost sales or profits). The business owner must also provide a “good faith” certification of funding usage and must provide payroll information as verification.

The city will not require any personal guarantees but will require collateral.

Utica will provide the loan proceeds within one to two weeks “depending on completeness” of application and other loan materials.

All federal job-retention guidelines must be followed throughout the process, the City of Utica also noted.

A loan application can be found at www.cityofutica.com. Any questions regarding the city’s program can be directed to Jack Spaeth, economic-development specialist, at (315) 792-0181 or via e-mail: jspaeth@cityofutica.com.

Forbearance

In addition, the City of Utica offered forbearance on 15 eligible loans that were allocated to local businesses prior to the coronavirus outbreak. Of the 15 eligible businesses, 12 enrolled in the forbearance program and will not make principal loan payments or interest for three months.