By Paul Maryniak | Ahwatukee Foothills News
The COVID-19 pandemic could wipe out a quarter of Phoenix’s small businesses and cost the city up to $200 million in General Fund and other revenue.
That stark picture of the virus’ impact on the city emerged from two Phoenix City Council hearings last week in which members began turning their attention to how to spend the $293 million the city received in federal pandemic-relief funds.
In its first decision to spend some of that money, Council on April 30 unanimously approved $5 million to provide $10,000 grants to hundreds of small businesses that had qualified for pandemic relief grants in that amount from a $2 million Phoenix IDA program that ran out of cash.
