Fort Bend County Letter to Businesses

To our Fort Bend Business Owners and Leaders,

I want to reach out to you directly so that we can work together to in this time of public health and economic crisis.  As your county’s leader during this global pandemic, my goal is to alleviate the economic and financial impact of the pandemic so that jobs and economic activity can recover as quickly as possible. I am also releasing COVID-19 facts accurately, quickly, and publicly for the prevention and treatment of the disease.

I fully understand that the stay home orders from the state and county are hurting business. I wish there was another way to save lives and get through this health crisis, but COVID-19 is highly contagious and the only way we can flatten the curve is to temporarily halt the movement of people. I know most of you are seeing a drastic drop in profits and revenue. I am committed to returning to normalcy as quickly as possible while also ensuring the safety and well-being of all Fort Bend County residents.

Also, I understand there is confusion about the federal and state funding streams available to businesses and independent contractors.  I ask you to look at the application process that came from the federal relief package in the CARES Act.

You can find the Small Business Administration’s information on applying for the various streams at these links: Paycheck Protection Program, EIDL Loan Assistance, SBA Express Bridge Loans, and SBA Debt Relief.

My recent conversations with the business community tells me what you need most right now is access to the monies from the Payroll Protection Plan. The Treasury Department website to apply for the payroll benefits for small businesses is at this link.

Additionally, the State of Texas and the Texas Workforce Commission have created a variety of resources for both employers and workers regarding the COVID-19 incident at:  https://twc.texas.gov/news/covid-19-resources-employers.

The County will continue to send you information on business and economic resources as quickly as possible going forward. To keep open communications between the county and businesses, please sign up here. If this email was forwarded to you by a colleague or friend, please email me to include you in future correspondences.

As a former businessman myself, I know the challenges you must be facing, and I want to use our county resources to help you as much as possible to stay in business and keep your employees paid.

We will work side by side to keep people employed, distribute necessary goods and services, ensure best practices for social distancing and sanitary workspaces, and direct the federal and state funding streams as quickly as possible.

I know in my heart that we are going to come out of the coronavirus crisis stronger as a community with newfound bonds that unite us here in Fort Bend, in Texas and in America. 

God bless you and stay healthy,

KP George

County Judge