Agency aims to help businesses rebound

The Ulster County Industrial Development Agency has set up a task force that will determine what programs can be established to help local businesses reopen from coronavirus-related shutdowns.

Agency attorney Joseph Eriole said during a video conference meeting Wednesday that funding will be needed to help companies meet requirements for protecting employees and customers.

“We want to design a program that has reduced fees and costs, potentially including legal fees and maybe fixed costs, so that applicants know exactly what they’re getting into when they come in and can work it into their budgets,” Eriole said. “The idea being that such transactions can be acted on quickly without any change in the procedure of the IDA.”

Among initiatives that could be offered are exemptions from sales taxes for materials, such as protective screening, needed for work spaces to comply with coronavirus-related guidelines.

“Coming out of COVID, a

lot of small businesses and a lot of medium businesses ... are going to need to respond to post-COVID regulations,” Eriole said. “It could also be that the COVID crisis revealed weaknesses

in their own [business] model that required addressing it in their physical plant.”

But the Industrial Development Agency does not want to limit assistance to businesses that are under stress.

“Businesses that have done well in COVID are going to be key to bootstrapping

up the rest of the economy coming out of this,” Eriole said.

“We want to let people know we’re here,” agency board Chairman James Malcolm said. “If it takes the extra step, we’ll take two extra steps to help you out.”

Any relief programs enacted by the agency would operate under recently adopted state rules that allow county IDAs to provide emergency loans through December 2021.