Economic Development Department « Lackawanna County

Lackawanna County CDBG Coronavirus CARES Mortgage and Utility Assistance Program (MUAP)

CDBG CARES Mortgage & Utility Assistance Program (MUAP)

Lackawanna County CDBG Coronavirus CARES Mortgage and Utility Assistance Program (MUAP) is being administered by the Lackawanna County Department of Human Services. MUAP was established as an emergency response to the COVID-19 pandemic to disburse funds in Lackawanna County to provide financial assistance to low- and moderate-income homeowners experiencing difficulty making mortgage payments and/or utility payments as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Assistance will be made available in the form of a grant, and funds will be paid directly to the mortgage and/or utility provider. Applications will be available on the Lackawanna County website https://www.lackawannacounty.org or relief.lackawannacounty.org on Thursday, March 11.

WHO CAN APPLY?

Homeowners who have experienced job loss or a reduction in annual income due to the COVID-19 pandemic and need assistance with past-due mortgage payments and/or assistance with past due utility bills, including electric, gas, water, and/or sewer, may be eligible.

ELIGIBILITY GUIDELINES

Assistance may be provided to support homeowners who are at least 30 days past due on their monthly mortgage payments and/or utility expenses and can verify job loss or loss of income related to COVID-19 rendering them unable to pay mortgage and/or utilities. All MUAP assistance is subject to the availability of funding.

MUAP funds may only be used to cover mortgage and/or utility expenses incurred after March 1, 2020. The maximum amount of monthly assistance for mortgage and utility payments will be equal to the actual mortgage payment and/or actual utility bill amount not to exceed three (3) consecutive months.

For a household to be eligible, the household income cannot exceed 80% of “median income” as defined in the guidelines published annually by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development for the Scranton-Wilkes Barre MSA. Additional guidance on this initiative is listed on the application.

This program is available to the following municipalities: the Townships of Benton, Carbondale, Clifton, Covington, Elmhurst, Fell, Glenburn, Greenfield, Jefferson, LaPlume, Madison, Newton, North Abington, Ransom, Roaring Brook, South Abington, Spring Brook, Thornhurst, Waverly, West Abington and Scott; and the Boroughs of Clarks Green, Dalton, Jermyn, Mayfield, Moosic, Moscow, Vandling, Archbald, Blakely, Clarks Summit, Dickson City, Dunmore, Jessup, Old Forge, Olyphant, Taylor, and Throop.

The Cities of Scranton and Carbondale are direct entitlements of HUD and receive their own funding, therefore they are not included within this Program.

For additional information on this program, please call 211.

Lackawanna County Business Relief Grant (Retail Food Services Industry) Program

The pandemic has taken a great toll on all types of small businesses in our community.

Normal operations have been interrupted and/or shut down on several occasions, causing grave economic hardships and in some cases permanent closure.

No sector has been hit as hard as the restaurant industry.

The Lackawanna County Commissioners Jerry Notarianni, Debi Domenick, Esq., and Chris Chermak are keenly aware of this issue and are “delivering” a program to provide emergency assistance to help this sector stay afloat and continue to serve the public in either a take-out or some streamlined manner.

The types of businesses eligible for the grant include: retail food service operations, bars, breweries, wineries and distilleries.

Under the program, a one-time $10,000 grant payment, subject to application approval, will be awarded. The resources can be utilized for expenses related to mortgage interest, rent, utilities, product/vendor costs, payroll, and general operating expenses.

Brenda Sacco, Director of Economic Development, explained that her department will be in charge of providing 100 grants at a $10,000 face value to qualified businesses. The department is also actively looking for additional revenue streams to offer even more assistance to this sector.

The businesses must employ fewer than 100 people as of February 15, 2020, been in business in our community as of the February 15, 2020, date, be non-franchised, locally owned, and have been impacted by the pandemic by shutting down or experiencing business loss/cutbacks.

One hundred percent of the grant funds must be used in Lackawanna County. All federal, state and local taxes must be current.

Upon grant approval, expenditures must be submitted within 60 days. The expenses must have been incurred during a March 1 – December 30 timeframe.

If the grantee fails to adhere to the Terms & Conditions of the grant, a refund must be made to Lackawanna County.

If a business recently received a COVID-19 Relief PA Statewide Small Business Assistance Grant from Lackawanna County, then it would not be eligible for this initiative.

For further details, visit the County’s webpage at www.lackawannacounty.org and click on the fuchsia button entitled “Lackawanna County Business Relief Grant (Retail Food Services Industry)” for information and to print an application.

The form can be emailed to [email protected], faxed to 570/963/7596, or dropped-off at the Lackawanna County Government Center, 123 Wyoming Avenue, Scranton.

Copies of the application will also be available in the Government Center’s vestibule.

The application deadline is Friday, December 18, at 4 PM.

Lackawanna County Commissioners Announce Funding For Twenty Community Re-Invest Projects

Lackawanna County Commissioners Announce Funding For Twenty Community Re-Invest Projects

Twenty projects, focusing on fire protection, public safety, community organizations, facility upgrades, and general construction and upkeep, were approved for funding by the Lackawanna County Commissioners through their Community Re-Invest Program totaling $95,289. The public-private partnership investment for 2020 is $1,077,893.

The Community Re-Invest Program was established in July of 2013. It represents the “last mile” funding to help bring the initiatives to fruition. The overall public-private investment since its inception is $8,730,827.

Small Business Relief Program Brief

Lackawanna County Commissioners approved $4.725 million in CARES Act funding to provide grants to more than 200 Lackawanna County businesses that applied for assistance through the COVID-19 Relief Statewide Small Business Assistance program.

“Small Businesses are the backbone of both our local and national economy. The pandemic has severely impacted the operations of our area’s small business community. We funded the Small Business Assistance Program to invest in our companies and to help strengthen their future. We want to assist them in keeping their doors open to provide all types of services to residents up and down the valley,” explained the Lackawanna County Board of Commissioners.

MetroAction, the small business affiliate of the Greater Scranton Chamber of Commerce, will provide technical assistance to those chosen for grant awards on behalf of Lackawanna County.

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Lackawanna County CDBG Coronavirus CARES Mortgage and Utility Assistance Program (MUAP)

Lackawanna County Business Relief Grant (Retail Food Services Industry) Program

Lackawanna County Commissioners Announce Funding For Twenty Community Re-Invest Projects

Small Business Relief Program Brief

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