FORT WAYNE, Ind (WFFT) -- A Fort Wayne city councilman is looking to help restaurants and hotels hurting from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Councilman Jason Arp drafted a resolution to use some tax money to create grants or loans for businesses, taken from the Fort Wayne Food and Beverage Tax Fund.
City of Fort Wayne
"That was the idea, to try and find a way to find some relief when we can," says Arp.
Council doesn't have the authority to do that, which is why he's asking for the Allen County-Fort Wayne Capital Improvement Board, as well as state politicians to grant local leaders more authority on that money.
"Council doesn't have the authority to pull a lever to turn off or redirect those funds," he says.
Arp says the city may have some substantial reduction in tax revenue, so projects upcoming may be put to the side, but says the focus will always be on public safety, and health.
"What happens to some of those community or economic development projects is yet to be seen," Arp says. "It'll be interesting to see tax revenues come in."
