County expands funding from CARES Act
Assistant Lee County Manager Glen Salyer said the county is moving into the next phase of its LeeCares program funded by the federal CARES Act.
Next week will be the last week the county accepts business restart applications as it moves to applications for $5,000 to each full-time equivalent worker a business brings back up to $10,000 for businesses with 10 employees or less and up to $20,000 for businesses with 11 or more employees.
Salyer said this should be available for all employers with up to 250 employees as well as 501c3 and 501c19 nonprofit organizations.
The county also is expanding the income eligibility for individuals as the number of household members go up. Right now, it is $55,000 or less per household. Salyer proposed increasing the income eligibility to $59,550 for a family of five up to $72,750 for a family of eight due to an expectation that it will have extra funds available to fund households.
Salyer said about $5 million has been approved at an average rate of $1,526 per individual to help make a rent payment and utility payment.
The county commissioners approved $5,000 for each of the county’s 17 chamber of commerce organizations to get the word out about the CARES Act funding.
Commissioners also approved $18.9 million in funding for phase 5 and 6 of the Estero Boulevard road project with an estimated final completion of time end of 2021.