FINDING A BANK TO FULFILL YOUR BUSINESS' PAYROLL PROTECTION PROGRAM LOAN
LOCAL, CHAMBER OPTIONS
A number of Chamber member financial institutions are handling U.S. Small Business Administration PPP loan applications. The Chamber has reached out to each of these members to determine availability and have learned that many are prioritizing applications from their existing customers. We recommend you contact your existing bank to determine if they are pa
rticipating as lenders in the new PPP.
If you would like specific contact information for one of the banks/credit unions accepting new members, we would be happy to make an introduction. Please contact Karen Pelletier, executive vice president, via
email
.
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SBA Loan Process: Paycheck Protection Program
Loan Information
The Paycheck Protection Program is a loan designed to provide a direct incentive for small businesses to keep their workers on the payroll.
The SBA will
forgive loans
if
all employees are kept on the payroll for eight weeks
and the
money is
used for payroll, rent, mortgage interest, or utilities.
Businesses can apply through any existing SBA 7(a) lender or through any
participating
federally insured depository institution, federally insured credit union, and Farm Credit System institution. Other regulated lenders will be available once approved and enrolled in the program.
You should consult with your local lender as to whether it is participating in the program.
Lenders began processing loan applications on April 3, 2020. The PPP will be available through June 30, 2020.
Find a lender
.
Who Can Apply
- Small business with fewer than 500 employees (including sole proprietorships, independent contractors and self-employed persons), private non-profit organization or 501(c)(19) veterans organizations affected by coronavirus/COVID-19
- Businesses in certain industries may have more than 500 employees if they meet the SBA’s size standards for those industries
- Small businesses in the hospitality and food industry with more than one location could also be eligible if their individual locations employ less than 500 workers
Loan Details and Forgiveness
- Loans will be fully forgiven if the funds are used for payroll costs, interest on mortgages, rent, and utilities (at least 75 percent of the forgiven amount must have been used for payroll)
- Forgiveness is based on the employer maintaining or quickly rehiring employees and maintaining salary levels
- Forgiveness will be reduced if full-time headcount declines, or if salaries and wages decrease
- Loan payments will also be deferred for six months
- No collateral or personal guarantees are required
- Neither the government nor lenders will charge fees
- This loan has a maturity of 2 years and an interest rate of 1 percent
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Massachusetts Legislature Passes Bill to Provide Immediate Relief to Municipalities and Others During the
Ongoing COVID-19 Crisis
On Friday April 3, 2020, the House and Senate passed a bill to provide necessary relief to municipalities, taxpayers, restaurants, and state authorities impacted by the COVID-19 crisis and the resulting state of emergency.
The bipartisan legislation includes:
- An extension of the state income tax filing deadline for residents
- Addresses disruptions in municipal tax collections and permitting
- Allows licensed restaurants to sell certain alcoholic beverages with food take-out and delivery orders, among other provisions.
The major provisions of the bill are as follows:
Tax Deadline Extension
The bill extends the 2019 state individual income tax filing and payment deadline to July 15 and is consistent with the new federal deadline.
Restaurant Service
Restaurants and other establishments licensed to sell alcohol for on-premises consumption may now sell wine and beer with food takeout and delivery - restoring a crucial source of revenue.
Municipal Governance
This legislation:
- Allows extensions for property tax exemption and deferrals from April 1 to June 1, 2020
- Modifies the permitting process to ensure flexibility for applicants and status hearing processes
- Allows annual town meetings to be delayed beyond June 30, 2020
- Enables a town moderator, or person designated as such, to reschedule town meetings for up to 30 days, and to do so multiple times if needed
- Permits municipalities to utilize retired employees and lifts pension-related hour restrictions for employees who return to work as it relates to COVID-19 response
- Prohibits essential services, provided by the city or town, from being terminated as a result of a missed or late payment
- Makes adjustments to the budgeting process enabling municipalities to meet fiduciary responsibilities and provide residential resources.
What does this mean for the City of Worcester?
The city manager is the designated chief executive officer of the City of Worcester pursuant to the city charter.
Section 10 of Chapter 53 of the Acts of 2020 allows the chief executive officer of a city: (i) to extend the date of excise tax due dates/date of interest accrual from May 1 to June 1, 2020; (ii) to extend the dates of real estate bills due from May 1 to a date not later than June 1, 2020; and (iii) to extend the dates for certain tax abatements until not later than June 1, 2020. The Act makes the extensions applicable only if City Hall is closed on a due date because of the COVID-19 or the governor’s emergency order.
Section 11 of the Act authorizes the chief executive officer of a city to waive the payment of interest and other penalties on late payment that were due on or after March 10, 2020 but on or before June 30, 2020 for any excise, tax, betterment assessment or apportionment thereof, water rate or annual sewer use or other charge added to a tax.
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WBRA Remains Ready to Aid Businesses during COVID-19 Pandemic
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The Worcester Business Resource Alliance, of which the Chamber is a member, is a collection of organizations which provides valuable information, training opportunities, events, funding, and other resources to small businesses and entrepreneurs. With the exception of the Worcester Public Library (which was ordered to close) these organizations continue to offer services with a current focus on helping businesses to survive the COVID-19 crisis. For information on participating organizations, and how to reach them, visit the
WBRA website
.
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FREE
Webinar
Payroll Protection Program and other aspects of the
CARES Act
Presented by the SBA
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Tuesday
April 7, 2020
2 - 3:00 PM
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In partnership with North Central MA, Marlborough, Blackstone Valley,
Corridor Nine, and Assabet Valley chambers of commerce.
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FREE Webinar
TO GET UP AND RUNNING
Easy-To-Use and Affordable Tools to Help You Conduct Business Virtually
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As more and more businesses are encouraging employees to work remotely, many of them have realized that they don’t have the technology in place to accomplish this quickly or productively.
Join us for this informational webinar, led by Cinch IT’s Rick Porter and InThink’s Kham Inthirath who will review easy-to-use and affordable online meeting platforms including Microsoft Office 365, Zoom, Trello, Google Hangouts, Free-ConferenceCall.com, Skype, Slack, and other popular options.
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WHAT YOU NEED TO PARTICIPATE
- Computer with a speaker or a telephone
- Internet Connection
- A link to the webinar (provided in your registration confirmation)
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SUPPORTING THE COMMUNITY
The
City of Worcester
has partnered with the
Greater Worcester Community Foundation
and the
United Way of Central Mass.
to aid in local relief efforts of the COVID-19 crisis.
A
id includes immediate basic needs to be administered by
United Way of Central MA
and long-term recovery efforts funded by the
GWCF
. To contribute, please visit links above.
Or, text "
WORCESTERCOVID19
" to 243725, click on the link you receive and follow the instructions to donate by check or credit card.
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NYT OPINION: It's Time to Make Your Own Face Mask
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"Widespread mask-wearing might be a very effective complement to hand-washing, social-distancing and other measures to mitigate the pandemic. ... This is no useless online fad; homemade masks for all could make a huge difference."
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NOTE
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To keep our members up-to-date on available resources and the Chamber response to COVID-19, for the foreseeable future the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce will issue daily emails at noon. These emails contain a variety of information from local, state, and federal loans to the offerings of local businesses and best practices during this uncertain time.
As always, we are here to help.
Due to the Governor’s stay-at-home advisory for non-essential employees, the Chamber office will be closed through April 7. Staff members will be checking email and voicemail and will respond accordingly. We will continue to monitor the most up-to-date information to best serve our business community. If you need assistance at the office, please email
the Chamber
. If you need assistance with Certificate of Origin processing, please email
Brenda Elmes
, office manager.
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We wish you all continued health. Please reach out if the Chamber can be of assistance.
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