Bordentown City Mayor James Lynch and city commissioners announced on March 23 that they were exploring measures to implement a grant program to fund small businesses in the city as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
That plan has since come to fruition in the form of the Bordentown City Small Business Grant.
On April 13, the Board of Commissioners approved the grant and the program was officially launched on the city’s website a week later on April 20.
The $230,000 grant will be taken out of the city’s $2.8 million surplus with no tax increase, giving small businesses in the community that qualify for the grant between $2,000 to $3,000 to work with for May and June.
“We pushed to get it launched as quickly as possible,” Bordentown City Deputy Mayor John Brodowski said. “We landed on an idea for a grant program that we believe will help our small businesses weather the storm during these hard times.”
Lynch stated on April 7 that the city’s current surplus stance helped allow city commissioners to push for a grant program with zero tax increase.
Businesses will have until May 1 to apply for the grant. The program will apply to small businesses and commercial businesses located in the city that have 25 or fewer employees. Only businesses with a Bordentown City address can apply for the grant.
Bordentown officials will review each application and announce the businesses that qualify for the grant at the May 11 Board of Commissioners meeting, Brodowski said.
All businesses will get the same grant amount, he said.
Brodowski, who is also the city’s director of Revenue and Finance, was selected by Lynch to form a small team to help with the process of the grant program.
Municipal Tax Assessor Glenn McMahon, Chief of Finance Officer Richard Wright and former city Clerk Pat Ryan joined Brodowski in the efforts to make the grant program possible.
“It was a team effort to put something in place to help our small businesses for the time being,” Brodowski said. “Our goal is to help our businesses and downtown area survive during the pandemic.”
For more information of the Bordentown City Small Business Grant Program, visit cityofbordentown.com/bordentown-business-grant-program/.
