ATLANTA — Atlanta City Council unanimously voted to provide $7.5 million in aid to small businesses hurt by the widespread water outages caused by water main breaks across the city earlier this month.
“This definitely was, unquestionably, a real impact to our businesses, to their employees. And that’s why we’ve been moving as quickly as we literally possibly can,” primary sponsor City Councilman Matt Westmoreland said.
The city provided the funding, but Invest Atlanta will administer the application process and distribute the money.
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“Our Administration knows there is a need for this assistance and together we have made sure that getting money in the hands of the impacted small businesses and their employees remains a priority,” Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens said.
Priority will be given to industries most directly impacted, including restaurants, beauty salons, spas, and daycares.
“This was driven by a need and desire to help those businesses immediately impacted,” City Councilman Alex Wan said.
The amount of money businesses are eligible for will be determined by their revenues.
The original bill would have provided $5 million but it was changed before the final vote to $7.5 million. If the money is not spent by this time next year, it reverts back to the city.
“We want to make sure we have the ability to support every small business, who would like some help,” Westmoreland said.
Applications open on Monday, June 24 and close on Monday, July 8.
You can see more about what documents you will need to apply here.
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