The City of Owensboro has allocated a total of more than $750,000 to 78 restaurants and bars through its Supplemental Payroll Program, which was created to provide employees with additional income during the pandemic. The program was finalized on Friday, and City officials said 1,376 employees should receive monetary assistance within the next few days.
City officials said they created the program because they felt restaurant and bar employees had been disproportionately affected over the last year due to restrictions and closures.
Angela Hamric-Waninger, the city’s director of finance and support services, said her team gathered all the information and finished combing through the submitted applications Friday before mailing checks out to the 78 restaurants and bars that were approved.
With a total of $750,805 going toward local employees, the City went just over its budgeted amount of $750,000 for the program. That funding came out of the City’s general fund.
Waninger said more 130 restaurants and bars operate within city limits and that most of the ones that applied for assistance received it. A handful of applications were denied due to those establishments being located outside city limits.
The specific amount of money each employee received could not be released, Waninger said, because the program is based on wages, which is “of a confidential nature.”
However, Waninger did say employees were divided into two categories in determining how much they received. Employees that worked 30 hours or more per week made up one category, while those that worked less than 30 hours per week made up the other.
In all, supplemental income was approved for 553 employees that worked 30 hours a week or more, and for 823 employees that worked less than that.
While 90% of the funds were allocated to employees, restaurants and bars also received a portion to help cover costs.
“Restaurants were able to retain 10% of the amount that was distributed,” Waninger said, noting that $68,255 went to restaurant administrative fees.
The City also implemented a verification process to ensure that 90% of the funding goes directly to employees. Employers signed a contract containing their employees’ names and information, which stated their understanding of where the money was directed to go. If anything suspicious is brought to the City’s attention, Waninger said all of the designated funds allocated to said establishment would be verified through whichever process necessary.
Waninger expressed gratitude toward the City of Owensboro for its efforts in helping the community during difficult times, commendeding Occupational Tax & ABC Administrator Dana Coomes for her hard work in getting the program up and running in a timely manner.
