Ulster pauses small-business assistance program as county probes potential incorrectly awarded grants

The Ulster County Office Building in Uptown Kingston on Wednesday, Oct. 20, 2021. (Tania Barricklo/Daily Freeman)

KINGSTON, N.Y. — The Ulster County Economic Development Alliance Inc. paused its 2022 Cares II Small Business Assistance program after a county executive’s office investigation discovered that some applicants may have been incorrectly awarded grants, Ulster County Executive Jen Metzger announced Friday.

Metzger said in a press release that the local development corporation’s CEO emailed, called and will also send a letter via certified mail to all 42 recipients of the 2022 CARES II Small Business Assistance Program “alerting them to the possibility of errors in the scorning and selection process dating back to last fall that may have caused some applicants to be incorrectly awarded grants.”

She said all program disbursements and the acceptance of invoices has been paused as of Friday.

“Initial review of documents dating back to September 2022 indicates that income eligibility requirements may not have been correctly applied to the grant application review criteria,” Metzger said in the release. “The original intent of the grant program as designed by the Legislature was to assist businesses whose owners or employees were in low- and moderate-income (LMI) brackets. The income eligibility requirement was applied as one of a number of scoring criteria rather than as an initial screen for the application process, creating the possibility that awards were granted to businesses that did not meet the income threshold.”

Metzger said her office uncovered the potential errors as information was being compiled to assist Ulster County Comptroller March Gallagher in auditing the 2022 CARES II Small Business Assistance Program disbursement process.

Metzger emphasized the findings are still preliminary and await a more comprehensive review by the county comptroller.

The 2022 CARS II Small Business Assistance Program was approved by the Ulster County Legislature last year and was managed by UCEDA under a contract with the county government.

Metzger said the County Executive’s Office will work with Gallagher to “ensure a comprehensive and expedited audit of the program.”  She said her office will also work with the comptroller and the county attorney to recommend to UCEDA the best course of action to rectify any incorrectly awarded grants as part of the program.

“I want to thank County Comptroller Gallagher for assisting us in the review of this matter,” Metzger said.  “My focus from Day 1 has been to ensure transparent, fair and equitable government processes, and if mistakes were made prior to my taking office, we will do our best to make sure they are corrected and that the original intent of the 2022 CARES II Small Business Assistance Program is honored.”