The Newspaper of Record since 1878
I attended the council meeting last night. And although I am still disappointed that the City manager and council didn’t initially include the small business of this community in the budget for the CARES Funding the city received, I am grateful that it was determined the city could find more than a mere $15k to help us.
This item is available in full to subscribers.
To continue reading, you will need to either log in to your subscriber account, or purchase a new subscription.
If you are a current print subscriber, you can set up a free website account and connect your subscription to it by clicking here.
If you are a digital subscriber with an active, online-only subscription then you already have an account here. Just reset your password if you've not yet logged in to your account on this new site.
Otherwise, click here to view your options for subscribing.
Please log in to continue |
Dear Editor,
RE: CARES Act Funding
I attended the council meeting last night. And although I am still disappointed that the City manager and council didn’t initially include the small business of this community in the budget for the CARES Funding the city received, I am grateful that it was determined the city could find more than a mere $15k to help us.
That then led to the conversation as to determining how to distribute the money. Please allow me to offer the obvious suggestions.
1. No online business should be considered as they do not generate any revenue for our city.
2. No business that has continually been able to operate in the black. Although many businesses have seen a drop in revenue there are still many that continued to operate at a profit while receiving other funding such as the PPA. A large percent of the businesses in this city are operated by owners that cannot afford employees and were not eligible for many of the previous grants.
3. Businesses that hold a current business license with the City of Globe.
And finally, how to determine who will distribute this money. As Ms. Cothrun explained, the other communities hired Local First Arizona to distribute this money so that there would not be any bias as that entity has no direct affiliation with any of the businesses but rather was created to offer assistance to businesses. It was suggested by the Mayor that the Economic Development Director be responsible for distribution. Absolutely NO. Ms. Oddonetto not only is involved in many boards and committees but has a direct relationship with one of the most successful businesses in this city, therefore creating a clear conflict of interest. I might add that I and many others are extremely disappointed in the fact that our E.D. director wasn’t first in line fighting for funding for the small businesses in this town, that is after all part of the very definition of that position. The important distribution of these funds must be done by a third party not affiliated with city or local commerce. This needs to be done immediately! We needed the assistance yesterday not next year. Many of the small businesses have closed their doors and will not be able to reopen ever. Do whatever you can to help save the rest of us.
Thank you,
Cindy Phillips
Owner
