State Gov’t Opens Second Round of Applications for Remaining $2 Million in Small Business Storm Relief

Gov. Janet Mills (D) announced Tuesday that applications are now open for a second round of funding from the Business Recovery and Resilience Fund (BRRF). Grants through this program are available to small businesses impacted by the storms that swept through Maine last winter.

About $2 million remains in the fund and will be allocated to businesses and non-profits in up to $100,000 portions, covering up to half of the total project costs.

The BRRF was established under the most recent supplemental budget approved by lawmakers as part of a larger $60 million spending package designed in response to this past winter’s storm damage.

While $10 million was set aside for the BRRF, the remaining $50 million was allocated to the Infrastructure Adaptation Fund (IAF).

Although both of these initiatives received bipartisan support in Augusta, lawmakers were divided along partisan lines over what would be the most appropriate source for the necessary funding.

While Democrat lawmakers backed the plan to utilize funds from the Budget Stabilization Fund (BSF), Republican legislators advocated for the money to be drawn from the unappropriated General Fund surplus.

[RELATED: Lawmakers Considering Proposals to Allocate Millions of Dollars in Response to Recent Destructive Storms]

Colloquially known as the Rainy Day Fund, the BSF is statutorily required to be used primarily as a reserve account to offset state expenses in the event of a General Fund revenue shortfall.

The BSF may also be used to to provide assistance to the families of fallen first responders or cover specifically-defined expenses during certain emergency situations.

[RELATED: $5.8 Million in Grants Awarded to Businesses and Organizations Impacted by Severe Storms Last Winter]

The newly-created BRRF has already distributed about $8 million in funding to 109 businesses and non-profits, up from the roughly $6 million estimated to have been awarded in August to this same group.

$21.2 million worth of grants have also been awarded to a combined 68 working waterfronts, as well as $25.2 million to 39 municipalities throughout the state.

[RELATED: $21.2 Million in State Grants Awarded to Repair Winter Storm Damage on Working Waterfront]

“We want to ensure that every business that can benefit from these recovery and resilience funds is able to do so,” Gov. Mills said in a press release Tuesday. “The severe storms last December and January disrupted businesses during the busy holiday season and created significant hardship for communities across Maine. I encourage all eligible Maine businesses to consider applying for this final round of funding.”

“Many Maine businesses were impacted during the three winter storms,” said Heather Johnson, Commissioner of the Maine Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD). “We were able to get direct help to many business owners in the first round, and these funds will allow us to reach even more businesses to help them recover and increase their resilience to a changing climate.”

Click Here to Read the Full Press Release

In May of this year, Mills signed an executive order establishing a commission to develop the state’s first plan for “long-term infrastructure resilience.”

According to the executive order, the ongoing effects of climate change will necessitate a continued investment in “recovery and rebuilding resources” because “extreme storms, inland and coastal flooding, and other natural hazards are projected to increase in frequency and severity as the climate warms.”

[RELATED: Janet Mills Issues Executive Order Establishing Commission to Develop Plan for “Long-Term Infrastructure Resilience”]

The severe winter storms that swept through the state this past winter were cited by Mills both in her press release and in the executive order itself as critical context for the commission’s formation.