MOLINE, Ill. — Some small business owners in Moline are frustrated with communication from the city about a COVID-19 relief program.
The B.O.O.S.T program provides a forgivable loan to help develop Moline's economy. It uses funding from the American Rescue Plan Act.
Tim McGuire applied for one of those loans to support the Wild Cherry Spoon Company, the business he started back in 2014. McGuire currently has four employees, including himself.
"At the end of the day, we all want to be in Moline," McGuire said. "We all want to invest in Moline."
The B.O.O.S.T. program uses more than $1 million for economic development. The city's website specifically defines which businesses are eligible for these loans.
"We were gonna be able to do raises, take some of our part-timers full time," McGuire said. "We were looking to add seven to 10 jobs. So we were looking to make a big splash with it and we're not going to be able to do that based on what they're offering now."
That process started months ago, with McGuire spending long days and nights for about a week and a half completing the application process. That was in addition to a required meeting in April. The business's application was approved in May, McGuire said. Even after the application was approved, the city was asking for budgets in July regarding how the money would be used, McGuire said.
In a phone call from the City of Moline to McGuire, he said he asked the city representative for clarification about the amount he would receive. This was because McGuire originally believed a new storefront downtown would qualify as a 'revitalized area,' which would have meant his business could have been eligible for more money, McGuire said.
"She clarified and said 'no you’re approved for the $50,000 base amount and $5,000 if you hire five employees,' which we planned on doing," he said.
With a potential dollar amount in mind, he planned to use some of the funding to attend the Christkindlmarket in Chicago at Wrigley Field.
"It would bring a lot of money to the area," McGuire said. "It basically brings Chicago sales dollars here, lets us employ more people."
McGuire said he still plans to attend and sell at that event, but it will put a strain on his business and family, he added.
McGuire said through phone calls and Zoom meetings, city officials indicated he would receive the "full award."
"We were promised 55,000," McGuire said.
But on August 1, when the City of Moline announced the B.O.O.S.T. recipients, McGuire noticed his business was awarded $25,000 instead.
"I had employees calling and texting me wondering if they were fired or if they were going to get laid off," McGuire said after his employees alerted him to the city's post on Facebook about the program.
In an email obtained by News 8 sent Friday to the selected business owners, city leaders said they never guaranteed businesses would receive the full amount. The email went on to add the city spread money to various businesses so more would benefit.
Economic Development Department documents and status reports show, from April until June, the city would award "up to $80,000" to applicants, dependent on certain criteria.
"In the meeting prior to award they had said that it would be 'up to', but there was nothing giving the indication, post-approval and post us telling you that you'd receive the full amount, that that would change," McGuire said.
McGuire said he is grateful for the B.O.O.S.T program, the loan and the impact he believes it will have on his business.
"I had laid out basically every single penny – how we were going to spend it, use it to grow," McGuire said.
Other business owners who spoke to News 8 shared similar concerns. Several plan to attend the next city council meeting, which is scheduled for Tuesday, August 8.
The City of Moline released this statement to News 8:
The City has been made aware of some concerns regarding the roll out of its B.O.O.S.T. program forgivable loan program that is funded through federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds. The city allocated $1.1 million in ARPA funds and is distributing $980,000 to 30 new and existing small businesses in Moline.
We would like to clarify some of the critical aspects of the program and its roll out. They are:
- From the outset, all B.O.O.S.T. applicants were made aware that the program was a competitive process. Which businesses would be awarded and the amounts of the awards were decided by a panel made up of 4 Moline staff members – the Assistant City Administrator, Community & Economic Development Director, Community Development Manager and Grant Projects Accountant – as well as 3 public sector business consultants, who evaluated applications and determined final loan amounts based on multiple criteria.
- Businesses applying for B.O.O.S.T. funds were never guaranteed to receive the full amount of their funding request. They were told repeatedly that grants could be up to $50,000 in total, but final awards would be based on multiple factors including application completeness, business plans and business sustainability.
- Throughout the application process, detailed information was shared with applicants in a transparent manner regarding the criteria and selection process. Detailed information was given to each applicant, outlining the criteria that would be used to determine funding amounts.
- To make the program as inclusive and impactful as possible, the process was competitive. This meant distributing funds across as wide a range of deserving businesses as possible, necessitating it be a competitive process due to limited resources. Over 300 individuals representing more than 150 businesses showed up to the initial B.O.O.S.T. kickoff meeting. This unprecedented interest in the program is why no individual applicant received a maximum grant.
- For those businesses receiving funding, the award is a testament to their potential and positive impact on Moline.
We value the feedback we have received from the business community and residents and continue to work to continuously improve our programs to better serve the community’s needs. The B.O.O.S.T. program will be carried over into next year only if additional federal funds are made available.