The City of Miami Beach is committed to working with our community businesses and stakeholders to keep everyone informed as this situation continues to unfold.
We can also appreciate that you might have a lot of questions. To try and assist with this, we have created a list of some
frequently asked questions
and answers for you. Do you still have further questions?
For City of Miami Beach specific questions, our Customer Service Call Center hours have been temporarily expanded until Friday, March 27, please call our city hotline at 305.604.CITY (2489), open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Although the Customer Service Center will be open from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m., we encourage you to use our
online
Customer Service Center
if possible.
LATEST UPDATES
Due to the fluid nature of this State of Emergency, the City has amended its emergency measures on several occasions since March 12, 2020, with the most recent measures issued on March 19, 2020. A brief summary of the latest changes is below for your convenience. However, the City recommends that you review the full text of the latest version of the Emergency Order, a link to which is available
here
to ensure you have the best available information, and are kept up to date at all times during this emergency.
Pursuant to Miami-Dade County Emergency Order 07-20, a copy of which is linked
here
,
the County has closed all non-essential retail and commercial establishments, effective 9 p.m.
Essential retail and commercial establishments, as listed in Emergency Order 07-20, will remain open. All City businesses must adhere to the
requirements of the Miami-Dade County Emergency Order, and any such additional eme
rgency measures specified by the City (see first link above).
The changes in the city’s March 19, 2020 Emergency Order include:
- Closure of all publicly-owned and privately-owned parks, beaches and recreational facilities
- Restricted use of beachwalks and baywalks to pedestrians only (no bicycles, scooters, skateboards, roller skates, or similar devices except for wheelchairs used by disabled persons)
- Closure of Monument Island until further notice
- Closure of all museums, memorials and cultural institutions
- Closure of all private schools and educational institutions in the City, except as necessary to facilitate online or distance learning
- Require religious institutions to reduce their occupancy to no more than 10 persons
- Require restaurants providing take-out services to maintain a distance of 6 feet among individual patrons to enforce social distancing
Any violation of the aforementioned emergency measures would subject the individual or business entity to criminal penalties.
RESTAURANT TAKE-OUT & DELIVERY GUIDELINES
For Stopping the Spread of COVID-19
Take-Out
- Exterior queuing is allowed while maintaining the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention recommended 6-foot distance between customers.
- Interior queuing is allowed while maintaining distance of six (6) feet between customers.
- Where possible, deliver take-out to vehicles or identify pick-up lanes for vehicles.
- Suggest specific pick-up times.
- A 5-foot pedestrian path must always be maintained outside of restaurants.
- Dining on the right-of way for takeout customers is prohibited.
- Maintain health and sanitary standards for all surfaces.
- Use proper health precautions when handling credit/debit cards and cash.
- Encourage food orders during off-peak hours.
Delivery
- Provide for deliveries to homes and offices.
- Allow customers to specify where they would like their order to be left (e.g. doorstep or building lobby, etc.).
- If customer signatures are required, hand sanitizer must be provided for driver and customer.
- Restaurants are allowed to apply a service charge for deliveries.
Customers
- Keep your distance. Social and physical distance must apply at all times.
- Use hand sanitizers at all times, before and after transactions.
- Minimize human contact, wash your hands and maintain good hygiene practices.
FINANCIAL RESOURCES
Emergency Business Damage Assessment Survey
Governor Ron DeSantis has activated the Business Damage Assessment Survey to assess the impact of COVID-19 on Florida’s local business operations. The survey, managed by the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO), will evaluate businesses affected by COVID-19 and the impacts the virus has had on the local economy so actions to implement appropriate relief programs can begin.
The Business Damage Assessment Survey can be taken online
here
.
Results from this survey will be shared with state agencies and local partners. Completing this survey could help unlock State and Federal funding. For inquiries or assistance with the survey, businesses can contact Emergency Support Function 18 at
ESF18@em.myflorida.com
.
Coronavirus Tax Relief
Individuals and business will have an extra 90 days to pay the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) if they owe additional income tax for 2019.
The IRS announced it will be allowing all individual and other non-corporate tax filers to defer up to $1 million of federal income tax (including self-employment tax) payments due on April 15, 2020, until July 15, 2020, without penalties or interest. The guidance also allows corporate taxpayers a similar deferment of up to $10 million of federal income tax payments that would be due on April 15, 2020, until July 15, 2020, without penalties or interest. This guidance does not change the April 15 filing deadline. For more information, visit
www.irs.gov/coronavirus
.
State of Florida Emergency Bridge Loan Program
The State of Florida Emergency Bridge Loan Program has been activated. The application period will run through May 8, 2020. The program will provide short-term, interest-free loans to small businesses that experienced economic injury from COVID-19. Qualified applicants must be a for-profit, privately held small business that maintains a place of business in the state of Florida, must be established prior to March 9, 2020 and must employ 2 to 100 employees.
This loan program will provide up to $50,000 per eligible small business. Loans of up to $100,000 may be made in special cases as warranted by the need of the eligible small business. Complete details on this program and how to apply are available
here
.
Short Time Compensation Program (Florida Department of Economic Opportunity)
The Short Time Compensation Program is a voluntary employer program designed to help employers maintain their staff by reducing the weekly working hours during temporary slowdowns instead of temporarily laying off employees. If an employer establishes a Short Time Compensation Plan and an employee meets the qualifications to file a re-employment assistance claim in the state of Florida, the employee will receive a partial re-employment check to supplement their reduced paycheck.
EMPLOYEES & EMPLOYERS: For more information on the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity Short Time Compensation Program please click
here
.
EMPLOYERS: To apply for the Short Time Compensation Program (required for employees to submit a re-employment claim), please click
here
.
Mom and Pop Small Business Grants
For more information on small business grant opportunities available through County Commissioner Eileen Higgins or Commissioner Sally Heyman's offices,
click here
.
U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Guidance
The SBA will work directly with state Governors to provide targeted, low-interest loans to small businesses and non-profits that have been severely impacted by the Coronavirus (COVID-19).
The SBA
has approved the Economic Injury Disaster Loan program which will provide small businesses with working capital loans of up to $2 million that can provide vital economic support to small businesses to help overcome the temporary loss of revenue they are experiencing. Find more information on the SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loans
here
.
Facebook Grant
F
acebook is offering $100 million in cash grants and ad credits to help during this challenging time. Click
here
for more information.
Click
here
for to learn about resources for bartenders and servers.
BUSINESS PREPAREDNESS TOOLS
Business Pandemic Planning Checklist
To assist with the potential financial impact on your business, please visit the following link for information to help maintain the continuity of your operations:
Business Pandemic Planning Checklist
.
Resilience in a Box
To give businesses a better chance at survival post-disaster, the U.S. Chamber Foundation offers a free toolkit called Resilience in a Box, in partnership with The UPS Foundation. This collection of resources educates business leaders on disaster preparedness and helps put them on a path to resilience. Read more on the
Good360 blog
.
It is important to keep your business and employees safe and to prevent the spread of COVID-19. We encourage you to monitor the
city’s page
on coronavirus for the latest information, as the situation is rapidly changing.
U.S. Department of Labor
The Wage and Hour Division provides information on common issues employers and employees face when responding to influenza, pandemics, or other public health emergencies, and their effects on wages and hours worked under the Fair Labor Standards Act and job-protected leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act. Click
here
to learn more.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
Free ad for Miami Beach Business Owners in Miami Beach Life Magazine
The Beach Channel will be offering free advertisements.
Due to the current unforeseen circumstances and pandemic, we find ourselves in, The Beach Channel is taking action to help our community. The Beach Channel will be offering free advertisement to any restaurants in the Miami-Dade, Broward, and Monroe county area that are offering delivery or take-out.
All restaurants in one of these three counties that offers delivery or pick-up are eligible. The advertisement will be run on the new Beach Channel app. It will also be featured on
the Beach Channel livestream
, which can be watched on the app or online at
thebeachchannel.tv
