EDITOR’S NOTE: Jodie Perry is President & CEO of the Richland Area Chamber & Economic Development.
MANSFIELD — Many of us were tuned in Monday to hear more Governor Mike DeWine’s plan to restart Ohio’s economy. He emphasized something that he had heard from his economic council – Ohio can do both, protect people and restart the economy.
You can see the set of “Responsible Protocols” that have been established for all businesses. Those 5 protocols are:
No mask, no work, no service, no exception. Require face coverings for employees and clients/customers at all times.
Conduct daily health assessments by employers and employees (self-evaluation) to determine if “fit for duty.”
Maintain good hygiene at all times – hand washing, sanitizing and social distancing.
Clean and sanitize workplaces throughout workday and at the close of business or between shifts.
Limit capacity to meet social distancing guidelines.
Establish maximum capacity at 50% of fire code.
And, use appointment setting where possible to limit congestion.
He also announced some dates:
May 1 – health procedures with no overnight stay begin again, dentists and veterinarians can reopen.
May 4 – manufacturing, distribution and construction can reopen (Protocols & Best Practices here)
May 4 – general office environment can reopen (Protocols & Best Practices here)
May 12 – consumer, retail and services can reopen (Protocols & Best Practices here)
What cannot open yet? You can see that list here.
We are compiling a list of LOCAL businesses that can supply some of the PPE that will be needed for you & your businesses. We will publish round 1 of that list tomorrow. If you have NOT communicated that you can supply items, please take a moment and either take this short survey, or send me an email. We really hope to keep as much of this spending local as possible!
We’ll certainly have more resources to share soon now that we have an idea of what the plan is. Stay tuned.
Round 2 of Paycheck Protection Program & EIDL started Monday.
As we communicated at the end of last week, the second round of applications opened up for the Paycheck Protection Program Monday at 10:30 a.m. This $310 Billion is expected to be exhausted within days due to the overwhelming amount of applications. I have sent lots of links regarding this program in past emails, but a couple new things that have popped up:
Treasury released a new document that talks about how to calculate loan amounts for all types of businesses. (Note: farmers are included in this round)
The FAQ’s for this program continue to be updated here.
Just today they have published information regarding seasonal employers here.
You can see my last email here which has a bunch of good links regarding this program.
The Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program was also recapitalized – $10 Billion set aside for the emergency advance program, and $50 Billion for the actual loans. But the SBA has not turned the application portal back on, instead using that to process loan applications they had already received. That gives us some idea of how many had missed out on funding. If/when they turn the application portal back on, I will let you know, you can also click here.
Bottom Line: These programs will both go fast, much faster than the first round. You must not delay in calling your banker. Will there be another round of funding? It’s certainly being discussed, but as we saw with the last one, it will take time to work out a deal. We’ll keep you in the loop.
Employee Retention Tax Credit
While we have focused a lot on the PPP & EIDL programs, there is another tool out there that can be used by employers – the Employee Retention Tax Credit. Here is a great overview by the US Chamber on this tool and we encourage you to reach out to your accountant to figure out if this is a better option for you & your business.
Expanded Unemployment
Just a quick reminder that the expanded unemployment website launched last week and you can – and should – now pre-register to file for that. This would cover self-employed, 1099’s, part-time employees and others who were not eligible under the traditional unemployment. See more here. While it will not be able to be processed for a few more weeks, your benefits will be retroactive.
ODJFS has also published this step by step guide to help people file for unemployment. Please forward to those you know who may be impacted.
#InThisTogetherOhio
Our local business community is working together to pull through this, and we’re trying to do our best to communicate that to the public. Thanks to all the businesses who helped us put this photo together last week – it’s racked up some impressive stats on Facebook and helps us convey that our local businesses really need support from our community!
Is your business doing something to help the community? Have you decorated your windows to show support? Drop me a line so I can feature you on an upcoming email.
Final Thoughts
I write this knowing this announcements will hit everyone differently. We have a rich diversity of opinions and beliefs in our community, in our state, in our country, and in our world. Maybe we can agree on this – to be a leader right now is exceedingly difficult.
Whether you’re leading a business, a non-profit, a religious body, a government body, a school, or any number of other groups – right now you’re being asked to make decisions you never thought you would have to make. I’ve certainly never been challenged more greatly in this regard, and I know others feel similarly.
In your sphere of influence, I hope you’re leading with empathy. I hope you’re leading with integrity. I hope you’re leading with courage. I hope you’re leading with understanding. I hope you’re leading with humility. I hope you’re seeking out help from others. I hope you’re standing firm in your belief of future success. I hope you’re remembering that you’re not alone. I hope you’re forgiving yourself when you make mistakes. I hope you’re forgiving others when they err.
One of my favorite historical leaders is Winston Churchill, the iconic British Prime Minister during much of World War II. He rallied a nation and a world to the cause at a time when the outcome seemed grim. I stumbled across this quote last week and it has been running through my mind ever since.
“To each there comes in their lifetime a special moment when they are figuratively tapped on the shoulder and offered the chance to do a very special thing, unique to them and fitted to their talents. What a tragedy if that moment finds them unprepared or unqualified for that which could have been their finest hour.” – Winston S. Churchill
As leaders, no matter how large our sphere of influence, we’re being tapped on the shoulder right now. Let’s make this our finest hour. Let’s show the world that we’re #RichlandCountySTRONG
