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BACKGROUND As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic the current economic climate has resulted in many Pleasanton businesses — and by extension, their employees — facing significant challenges, including little to no revenue to weather the extended decline. At its April 15, 2020 meeting, the City Council approved a Business Assistance Program to offer support to local companies during this public health emergency. The Business Assistance Program has several elements that have been actively implemented following approval: • Communications and Promotion • Transient Occupancy Tax Penalties Waiver • City Utilities Penalties waiver and Deposit Deferral • Business Support Fund Attachment A provides a summary update offering more expanded information and examples of those implementation activities. DISCUSSION From the onset of this emergency, City staff has been in continual contact with representatives of the Pleasanton Chamber of Commerce, the Pleasanton Downtown Association (PDA), Visit Tri-Valley (VTV) and Hacienda to offer City guidance and support, as well as solicit input regarding efforts they believe would assist the businesses they represent. The Alameda County Reopening Plan was established in mid-May which identifies which business uses will be included in future updates to Shelter-in-Place, as well as an outline of the impact of increased social activity on the risk of exposure to infection (https://covid-19.acgov.org/reopening.page?). Movement to subsequent stages and re-opening of business sectors is contingent upon local COVID- 19 indicators, generally at 2-4 week intervals and under the guidance and directive of the State. At late June, this timeline was been paused due to increasing case and hospitalization rates. The County health order is closely monitored and while there has been allowance for some industries to re-open fully or in a modified manner (e.g., outdoor dining, outdoor fitness, etc.) many businesses continue to be severely impacted financially. In implementing the initial elements of the Business Assistance Program, staff applied City tools available to provide temporary financial relief to local businesses that would assist them in staying solvent during this emergency. Given the current inability for some businesses to re-open, the impacts of modified business formats for those that have re-opened, and the undetermined extent of the pandemic, further considerations to assist the business community are being proposed. The initial development of the Business Support Fund was intended to focus on industries that had been hardest hit during the pandemic and has two target audiences: • Micro-enterprises — companies that have between 2-10 employees — are more likely to have difficulty in securing capital financing and often have higher Page 2 of 6