Update for Wednesday, May 13, 2020

• Complimentary reusable cloth face coverings are once again being made available to essential businesses and nonprofit organizations located in Dutchess County. They will be available for pickup on May 15. Registration is required by tomorrow at 2 p.m. and can be done so by clicking HERE.
• The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) and Farm Service Agency (FSA) will host a webinar on Thursday, May 14, at 1 p.m. This webinar is for farmers, ranchers and other producers interested in applying for direct payments through the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP). To register for this webinar, click HERE.
• An updated FAQ has been posted today on treasury.gov addressing how SBA will evaluate the good faith certification regarding the necessity of the PPP loan request. It can be found HERE.
• The safe harbor deadline for businesses to return PPP funds if they determine that they were ineligible has been extended until tomorrow, 5/14, pending publication of the procedures for returning the funds. If the guidance is not ready by then, we would expect another extension of the deadline.
• The EIDL Advance has no reporting requirements and does not have to be repaid. It is designed to provide immediate economic relief. This is independent from the EIDL Loan and not part of the Loan’s terms and conditions. Any Advance funds will be deducted from PPP forgiveness, however.
• EIDL Loan funds may only be used for working capital expenses. Business expansion or acquiring fixed assets are not eligible uses of proceeds.
• In today’s (Wednesday) press conference Governor Andrew Cuomo said 12 additional counties can now conduct elective surgeries because of the decreasing infections in the state.
• NYS Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli’s office has released an analysis of the state’s fiscal outlook. “The state’s Enacted Budget Financial Plan anticipates a dire fiscal outlook in State Fiscal Year (SFY) 2020-21 and projects sweeping budget cuts that could affect essential services provided by the state, schools and local governments…” The full report can be found HERE.

If you have any questions regarding the information in this notification or any other business related concerns and suggestions, please email Contact@DutchessBNN.com. Please do NOT contact elected officials regarding information in this email as they are currently inundated with handling the government response to this crisis. This network was created to help coordinate responses and share the burden, and we ask that you please contact us with any questions or concerns so our elected officials can focus on their task at hand. Thank you for your continued support through this time.

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Update for Tuesday, May 12, 2020

• New York State is hiring Contact Tracers, Contact Tracer Supervisors, and Community Support Specialists in preparation of reopening the region. If you, or someone you know, is looking for employment, consider applying for these vital positions HERE.
• A copy of “NY Forward: A Guide To Reopening New York & Building Back Together” can be found HERE, with additional resources found HERE.
• In today’s (Tuesday) press conference Governor Andrew Cuomo said the state needed $61 billion in federal aid or the state would cut school, local government, and hospital aid by 20%.
• Governor Cuomo also called for the federal government to provide assistance to landlords and renters to ensure there is not an influx of foreclosures or evictions when his Executive Order expires.
• County health departments will be in charge of determining if businesses are complying with social distancing directives when they reopen. The counties will also be in charge of penalizing businesses for not complying with safety measures, or if businesses open in defiance of the NY PAUSE measures.
• Governor Cuomo said the initial 14-day minimum gap between entering phases is preliminary and may be adjusted. That number was chosen because that is the timeline it takes for a possible outbreak to be determined. He said that if testing shows that there is not a rise in positive cases after areas begin to reopen, it is possible he will shorten the window of how long a region must wait.

If you have any questions regarding the information in this notification or any other business related concerns and suggestions, please email Contact@DutchessBNN.com. Please do NOT contact elected officials regarding information in this email as they are currently inundated with handling the government response to this crisis. This network was created to help coordinate responses and share the burden, and we ask that you please contact us with any questions or concerns so our elected officials can focus on their task at hand. Thank you for your continued support through this time.

Update for Monday, May 11, 2020

• Visit HERE for updates on Governor Andrew Cuomo’s plan to reopen businesses and nonprofits in New York. An updated guidance has been released by Empire State Development on essential businesses that can be found HERE.
• A regional monitoring dashboard has been released by the state. This shows the metrics each region must meet in order to reopen, and is updated daily. The dashboard can be found HERE. A copy of “NY Forward: A Guide To Reopening New York & Building Back Together” can be found HERE, with additional resources found HERE.
• In today’s (Monday) press conference Governor Andrew Cuomo said the Finger Lakes, Southern Tier, and Mohawk Valley regions have reached the threshold to begin Phase 1 of reopening.
• Drive-in movie theaters, landscaping, and gardening will be allowed to reopen statewide beginning May 15, but must still maintain social distancing and protective measures during business operations.
• Each region will have a “Regional Control Room” to monitor the 7 metrics in the region and provide guidance and accountability to reopening measures. Members of each region’s Control Room will include both private and public officials in the region. They will also be in charge of determining which businesses will reopen and the requirements those businesses must meet to reopen and stay open.
• Regional Control Rooms will also determine when they are ready and able to begin Phase 2 of reopening, as long as they are monitoring and under the 7 metrics in the state’s guidelines.
• The regional groups will also be in charge of determining a how childcare will be provided to the workers who are allowed to return to work.

If you have any questions regarding the information in this notification or any other business related concerns and suggestions, please email Contact@DutchessBNN.com. Please do NOT contact elected officials regarding information in this email as they are currently inundated with handling the government response to this crisis. This network was created to help coordinate responses and share the burden, and we ask that you please contact us with any questions or concerns so our elected officials can focus on their task at hand. Thank you for your continued support through this time.

If you were forwarded this email, but would like to be added to the email list, please let us know by emailing contact@DutchessBNN.com

Update for Friday, May 8, 2020

• Dutchess County Executive Marcus Molinaro announced today the creation of two programs to help small local businesses left behind in the wake by the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) “flawed” roll-out of the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program and the Payroll Protection Program (PPP).
• At its next board meeting, the Dutchess County Local Development Corporation (LDC) is expected to vote on establishing a COVID-19 small business express loan program in partnership Community Capital New York (CCNY) that will help the smallest affected businesses in Dutchess County that have been unable to secure SBA assistance. The zero interest loan program is intended exclusively for small independent businesses located in Dutchess County that have not been able to secure SBA, PPP, or EIDL or any other COVID related aid and comes with an optional deferred payment plan and loan amounts up to $10,000.
• The Dutchess County Industrial Development Agency (IDA) will vote to establish a no-fee, fast tracked, COVID-19 Sales and Use Tax Relief Program to help local manufacturers expand capacity and produce much needed personal protection equipment in Dutchess County. The Dutchess County IDA and LDC will meet on Wednesday, May 13 at 8:00 a.m. to consider resolutions on both programs. As more details are announced, they will be announced in this email.
• Complimentary reusable cloth face coverings are once again being made available to essential businesses and nonprofit organizations located in Dutchess County. They will be available for pickup on May 15. Registration is required by May 14, and can be done so by clicking HERE.
• Visit HEREfor updates on Governor Andrew Cuomo’s plan to reopen businesses and nonprofits in New York.
• Empire State Development released guidance that allows golfers with disabilities or those who own a personal cart to ride and play. The ESD spokeswoman emphasized that maintenance workers and security are the only employees allowed to be at the course. For that reason, golfers who want to ride but do not fall into one of the two aforementioned categories may not rent a cart at this time.
• In today’s (Friday) press conference at Marist College in Poughkeepsie, Governor Cuomo said he does not expect to see any deviations from his reopening plan. He indicated that he will not allow additional industries to reopen in earlier phases than already detailed, and the plan that is laid out in New York Forward was final.
• The Executive Order extending the eviction and foreclosure ban, along with closing schools for the remainder of the school year, has been released. A copy of the order can be found HERE.

If you have any questions regarding the information in this notification or any other business related concerns and suggestions, please email Contact@DutchessBNN.com. Please do NOT contact elected officials regarding information in this email as they are currently inundated with handling the government response to this crisis. This network was created to help coordinate responses and share the burden, and we ask that you please contact us with any questions or concerns so our elected officials can focus on their task at hand. Thank you for your continued support through this time.