Coronavirus: Burr Ridge To Subsidize Restaurants And Hotels
BURR RIDGE, IL — Burr Ridge is giving money to certain restaurants, bars, stores and hotels to help them deal with the effects of the coronavirus epidemic, though a couple residents expressed concerns about the subsidies. The program is mainly targeted at businesses in the Village Center and County Line Square, officials said.
The village wants to "make sure we have an economy after the pandemic subsides," Assistant Village Administrator Evan Walter said during the Village Board's virtual meeting Monday. "A lot of businesses in the village have been strong and longtime supporters of the village either through sponsoring events or being sales taxpayers."
Called the "tourism recovery" program, it will make available $210,000 in motel tax money. According to the village, four hotels, nine restaurants and 11 other businesses are eligible. The onetime grants are $15,000 for hotels and $7,500 for restaurants and stores. The money, officials said, is to help with rent, payroll and other core expenses.
According to the rules, hotels must make less than $10 million and restaurants and stores less than $3 million to qualify. Eligible restaurants and bars cannot be a part of chains with more than four locations.
During public comment, resident Christine Formanski questioned the idea of the giving subsidies when many people, including herself and her daughter, are out of work as a result of the crisis.
"You freely want to bail out these high-end restaurants that charge outrageous prices," Formanski said.
She suggested requiring the businesses to seek state and federal grants before the city "throws this money at them."
In response, Mayor Gary Grasso said the money won't be going to high-end restaurants. "This is for the ma-and-pa-type businesses we have in Burr Ridge," he said.
An email by resident Elena Galinski was read during the board session.
"This is not a proper use of our tax dollars, especially when that very fund will be negatively impacted by the lack of tax (money) received from those same businesses," she said. "So not only will the village not receive those taxes due to COVID-19, it will give away the taxes that were already received."
Grasso said it was a proper use of the money, just the kind of "shot in the arm" the businesses need, particularly those in the Village Center and County Square.
"If those businesses go under, that would negatively impact Burr Ridge and property values in Burr Ridge," he said.
The Village Board voted 5-1 for the tourism grants. Trustee Zach Mottl dissented, calling the grants a "horrible, horrible" program. He later told Burr Ridge Patch that the village should not be giving grants when state and federal programs are handling that function.
Read more:
Illinois Coronavirus Update April 15: 23,247 Cases; 868 Deaths
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This article originally appeared on the Burr Ridge Patch
