Another round of federal help for businesses is on its way, but several questions yet to be answered

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Businesses in Mid-Missouri and across the country will be able to apply for another round of the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), but there are still a lot of questions.

In the second relief bill signed by President Donald Trump on Sunday, federal lawmakers set aside $284 billion for another round of forgivable PPP loans. The program runs through the Small Business Administration (SBA).

Businesses who already received a loan during the first round earlier in the pandemic can apply again if they have 300 employees or less, have used or will use the full amount of their first PPP loan, and can show a decline in revenue compared to last year.

Senior Vice President and SBA Manager at The Bank of Missouri Karin Bell said there were some issues with the logistics of the first round, and she is hopeful those will be fixed this round.

"We're just waiting for guidance and once it does happen, we will be there ready to help people," Bell said. "We just want to make sure it's done right the first time so we don't have to backtrack."

For the loan to be forgiven, 60 percent of the PPP loans must be used to cover payroll, but Bell said this next round will allow the other funds to be used for things other than rent, like PPE and other COVID-19 related costs.

"The masks and the hand sanitizer and all of that, that is an expense that they never thought they would have to incur, and they aren't getting reimbursed for it," Bell said. "Now with the PPP Program they will hopefully be able to ask for reimbursement for a lot of that stuff."

The owner of Pizza Tree in downtown Columbia John Gilbreth received funds from this program during the first round, which he said was crucial to keep them afloat.

"We covered a ton of paychecks and were able to offer hazard pay," Gilbreth said. "It gave us just a little padding, beyond the payroll, to be able to make the small additional purchases that were needed to pivot into strictly pickup and delivery services."

He plans to apply again for the second round of the program and said the expansion into PPE would be helpful.

"Masks aren't the biggest budget point for us, but it adds up," Gilbreth said. "Honestly we have been going through a ton of gloves as well, more than we ever have."

The co-owner of Sake and Teller's restaurants in downtown Columbia Deborah Rust also received the first round of PPP.

"I think it was invaluable, there's not doubt about that," Rust said.

She still has questions about how this next round will work before deciding whether or not to apply again for more of those federal dollars.

"I feel like we need a few more details ironed out about how we are going to establish the forgiveness before we move onto yet another round," Rust said.

Two other businesses ABC17 News spoke with shared those questions, and we not sure if they would apply for this round of funding.