City of Raton issued the following announcement on Sept. 16.
The City of Raton was awarded a sum amount of monetary relief through the CARES Act. The CARES Act established the Coronavirus Relief Fund (the “Fund”) and appropriated $150 billion, nationally with $50 Million in small business relief funds dedicated by the State of New Mexico. Through a competitive application process, the City of Raton was awarded $718K from the State of New Mexico to assist local businesses.
In order to support local businesses that may be struggling due to the Coronavirus pandemic, The City of Raton will be awarding a number of grants up to small businesses with significant decline in revenue. Businesses will be asked to provide documentation showing loss in sales and change in market conditions attributing to the negative impact of COVID-19 on business.
In order to receive the CARES Act funding, please complete the short application by September 30, 2020 and return to: Michael Anne Antonucci: Mantonucci@CityofRaton.com or drop off your application at Raton City Hall, 224 Savage Ave. Raton, NM 87740.
Eligibility and Participation Requirements:
- Funding is competitive and available by application. Applicants must be a local proprietor/small business located within Raton with no more than 50 employees and less than $2 Million in annual gross revenue.
- Businesses must be in good standing with the City of Raton in order to receive a CARES Grant.
- Funding is only available to businesses that can prove a significant loss due to COVID-19.
- Recipients must certify that they intend to remain open, own and operate, as is, with no major decreases to service for at least 36 months after grant receipt. Business owners who accept the grant money with fraudulent intent will prosecuted.
- Businesses that are a S-Corp, LLC, Inc, or Corp must be in good standing with the State of New Mexico.
- Hospitality businesses must be up-to-date on paying Lodger’s Tax in order to be eligible for a CARES Grant.
- Applicants should be prepared to describe/demonstrate the need for support. Preference will be given to applicants willing to commit resources (time or money) that support business sustainability or shorten economic recovery time.
- Grantees must be willing agree to use the Business Continuity funds for the intended purposes including but not limited to:
- Rent
- Mortgage Payments*
- Non-Owner Payroll Expenses
- Insurance
- Utilities
- Marketing
- *Mortgage expenses only qualify on property owned prior to March 1, 2020.
- --Grantees may also qualify for additional funding for “business re-design” expenses necessary to adopt COVID Safe Practices for the following:
- Reconfiguring physical space
- Installing plexiglass barriers
- Purchasing web-conferencing or other technology to facilitate work-at-home
- PPE for employees
- Temporary structures to mitigate the spread of COVID-19
- Grant monies may not be used to expand current business operations or go towards non-essential operating expense.
- All grantees will be asked to complete a Business Intake Assessment to assist the City of Raton and local partners to identify business needs and provide relevant resources to the business community.
- All grantees will be required to provide the following documentation upon execution of a grant award:
- Certificate of good standing
- Most recent payroll at time of application
- Documentation of March and April 2019 total gross receipts
- Documentation of March and April 2020 total gross receipts
- Most recent taxes documenting net taxable income
- Completed W9 Form
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