The Janesville City Council is considering different ways to support restaurants as winter weather makes outdoor dining more difficult.
Janesville City Council member Paul Benson proposed taking money from the city’s COVID-19 microloan program and converting it to a grant program of up to $2,000 per business.
Economic Development Director Gale Price is recommending against the grant program and instead suggesting changes to the microloans to better support businesses.
Only $5,000 of the $100,000 program has been distributed so far, with many businesses hesitant to take on new debt during the pandemic.
His staff is proposing possible changes including delaying the payback of the microloans, dropping the interest rate to zero instead of two percent, allowing balloon payments or even forgiving the last year of the loans.
The council is set to decide on any potential changes to the program at its meeting Monday night.
