PRESS RELEASE

Long Beach, CA – Today the City of Long Beach announced the completion of awarded business credits to local businesses through its Fresh Start Program, a Long Beach Recovery Act funded initiative to provide financial relief to select Long Beach businesses. The program provided a one-time credit of up to $599 per business, and a total of over $930,000 in awards to 1,790 Long Beach businesses that have outstanding business license tax or fees, Health Department fees, or Fire Department fee balances with the City in sectors highly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The Fresh Start Program provides essential relief directly to businesses that have been impacted by the pandemic,” said Mayor Rex Richardson. “We will continue to provide support and resources that help position businesses in our community for success.”

Fresh Start grants were awarded to businesses in sectors most impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Awarded business types include those previously identified by the City as highly impacted under the Recovery grant programs, such as Personal Services and Fitness Relief, and Restaurant, Brewery and Bar Relief. The list of business types was also expanded to include retail, some hospitality and arts, and additional services. This grant was applied directly to businesses’ taxes and fees owed to the City and was announced in a letter to business owners. There is no application and no additional action required to accept the award, but business owners do have the option to opt out if they do not want to have this award credited to their account. The complete list of included business types is available at longbeach.gov/smallbizgrants.

In September 2021, the Long Beach City Council requested the City Manager to explore a Fresh Start Long Beach Program by allocating Long Beach Recovery Act funds to lessen the financial burden on Long Beach business owners who have outstanding business license fees as a direct result of COVID-19 hardships. This effort was originally brought to the City Council by First District Councilwoman Mary Zendejas and was approved by the City Council with a 9 to 0 vote.

“Although we are out of the pandemic’s state of emergency, many of our local businesses are still reeling in its economic impacts,” said First District Councilwoman Mary Zendejas. “We want to ensure that we're providing much needed resources for businesses to continue or restart their small businesses as a part of our economic recovery strategy.”

The City’s BizCare Program will provide support on any questions regarding the Fresh Start Program. Businesses can contact BizCare by phone at 562.570.4249 or email 4biz@longbeach.gov for questions on this award.

This program is made possible by the Long Beach Recovery Act (Recovery Act), a plan to fund economic and public health initiatives for residents, workers and businesses critically impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of $20 million has been allocated for business support under the Recovery Act, which includes direct support for local small businesses through these grants. Additional information about the Long Beach Recovery Act is available at longbeach.gov/recovery.