FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
5/18/2020
Contact: Mayor’s Office
410-548-3100
Salisbury – Mayor Jake Day is pleased to announce NEXT STEP, a multi-faceted plan to provide immediate relief for citizens affected by the COVID-19 crisis, as well as protection and assistance for at-risk residents, and help for small businesses transitioning from crisis management to recovery.
“In collaboration and cooperation with the Salisbury City Council, Next Step ensures that no one is forgotten in the recovery process. The truth is that this crisis has affected different sectors and different populations unevenly – not just from a health perspective, but economically as well,” said the Mayor. “NEXT STEP is an omnibus package of measures which will provide relief and protection for our citizens now, and establish longer-term solutions to some of the new challenges we face as we try to get the economy back on track.”
Comprised of 12 individual initiatives, NEXT STEP uses the allocation and distribution of grant funds, legislative action, and executive action to match the appropriate relief to the need at-hand. First responders, renters, small business owners, vulnerable populations, workers, non-native-English speakers, taxpayers, rate payers, restaurateurs, frontline workers, and worshippers are identified for relief and help based upon needs specific to each group.
Relief for First Responders
· Permanent 100% City Property Tax Credit for City of Salisbury First Responders (Volunteer Firefighters, Career Firefighters and Police Officers)
Relief for Renters
· $105,000 for rental assistance for those whose wages have been affected
· Order outlawing rent increases during the state of emergency
· Order requiring refund of any rent increase that has been charged since the start of the state of emergency
· Order requiring every landlord to distribute within 5 days to every renter a Letter from the City on the renter’s right to remain in their housing unit until a court order removes them
Relief for Small Business Owners
· $87,000 for acrylic barriers available for small business and the City, made locally by M4 Reactor
Relief for Low-Income Residents
· $10,000 for PPE, hand sanitizer, antibacterial soap packets for families in low-income neighborhoods
· $15,000 for food for families in low-income neighborhoods
· 5,000 masks for residents in low-income neighborhoods
Help for Vulnerable Populations
· Vulnerable populations task force formed to ensure that homeless, non-English speaking, low income, and juvenile residents have a voice in policy-setting
Help for Workers
· Workers protection policy task force will be formed to ensure that each industry considers protection of workers during reopening process
Help for Non-Native-English Speakers
· $8,000 for production of marketing materials on methods of self-protection for Spanish, Creole, Korean and deaf/hearing limited citizens
Relief for Tax Payers
· 6-month and 12-month payment plans in effect for all City property tax payers with no late fees
Relief for Rate Payers
· 6-month payment plan in effect for all Water/Sewer rate payers once the State of Emergency is lifted, with no late fees
Relief for Restaurateurs
· Established multi-Department Restaurant Outdoor Dining Review Team
· 24-hour review timeline for restaurants for expanded outdoor dining areas on public or private property
· Cooperation with the Wicomico County Board of License Commissioners to approve expansion of coterminous boundaries for liquor licensed premise
· Online application portal LIVE
· This will go into effect once the Governor’s order allows for outdoor dining
Relief for Frontline Workers
· $750 one-time stipend for City employees who are in direct contact with the public and $500 one-time stipend for City employees who are in secondary contact
Relief for Worshipers
· Offer of all City parks and public spaces for outdoor worship services for any Wicomico County house of worship
· Establishment of online reservation system for public spaces for worship purposes
· Requirement that masks be worn at all times, by all persons, for any indoor worship service
Mayor Day added, “Today we face a future we couldn’t have imagined just a few short months ago. It is only by prioritizing the health, safety, and prosperity of every citizen that we will begin to see shape this new future, because we can only truly rise together. I am hopeful, and I believe that if we know what that next step is, we will rise.”
For more information on Next Step, visit www.salisbury.md/nextstep
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