Parisi: Millions of Dollars for Small Business Pandemic Recovery, Eviction Prevention a Starting Point for Bigger, Bolder Stimulus to Come

January 21, 2021
Ariana Vruwink, 608-267-8823
County Executive

Dane County Board to Act this Evening on Measures to Help Ease Economic Woes Brought About by Covid-19

A pair of measures before the Dane County Board of Supervisors this evening are a “down payment” to critical needs across the community as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, County Executive Joe Parisi said today. The Board will look to add $4 million to Dane County’s Small Business Pandemic Recovery Grant program and provide an additional $8.5 million to address the growing backlog of families in the community struggling to keep up with rent. Parisi noted these additional efforts build upon aid programs Dane County developed last year and are the first of what he hopes is much more to come in the months ahead.

“The message from Washington D.C. in recent weeks could not be in starker contrast to what we saw with the federal government’s haphazard approach to this pandemic last year,” County Executive Joe Parisi said. “Messages of hope are being paired with a recognition that communities like ours across the country are poised to get direct help to people struggling from this pandemic. We see the need, we know the hurt folks are facing, and resolutions up for adoption tonight show we are ready to go to help struggling families and small businesses recover from the ravages of Covid,” Parisi said.

Parisi announced earlier this month the County would use $4 million in unallocated CARES funds to bolster the county’s small business grant partnership forged with Dane Buy Local at the outset of the pandemic. Businesses looking to apply for these relief grant dollars can apply at https://www.danebuylocal.com/. Dane County was among the first government entities in the country to form a small business support program and to date has awarded over $14 million to this program.

A separate contract before the Board this evening provides an additional $8.5 million to the Tenant Resource Center to help prevent evictions and stabilize housing. Dane County recently approved $5 million to extend a partnership between Second Harvest Foodbank of Southern Wisconsin and local growers and producers to help keep families in need fed and food pantry shelves stocked into the summer months.

“We have work to do as a community and country to bounce back from the wide-reaching impacts of this pandemic,” Parisi said. “I look forward to continuing to work with our local, state, and federal partners to get relief out into the community as quickly and effectively as possible.”