INDIANAPOLIS — A proposal to allocate additional COVID-19 relief funds for rental assistance, paycheck protection loans and more was unanimously passed by the Indianapolis City-County Council on Monday.
It is the second package of COVID-19-related funding to be passed by the city-county council in 2021.
"This funding will extend vital assistance to Indianapolis renters, small business owners, workers, and residents throughout our city," Mayor Joe Hogsett said. "As the economic effects of the pandemic will stretch long past 2021, these programs will help our neighborhoods recover in the short run and thrive in the long run."
According to the city, Indianapolis received nearly $29 million in rental assistance funding. Those dollars, combined with $6 million from a package passed by the city-county council on Jan. 11, more than doubles a program that has already dispensed more than $33 million to nearly 16,000 Marion County households.
The council also approved up to $10 million for the local Paycheck Protection Program. The program is managed by the Indy Chamber, which has already approved loans for more than 180 businesses since the start of the pandemic.
Both the rental assistance and Paycheck Protection Program funding were passed by Congress on Dec. 21.
The city-county council on Monday also approved $3.7 million in Federal Emergency Management Agency Public Assistance appropriation for COVID-19 pandemic-related expenses, including overtime, PPE, cleaning services, and more. The city's total claim under the program in 2020 exceeded $3 million.
The funding approved on Monday, along with $168 million in federal CARES Act funding and $12.9 million last month from the city's general fund for COVID relief programs, bring the total COVID relief funding in Indianapolis to more than $200 million.
