By Nathan Bottiger

Eagle Staff Writer

The Paycheck Protection Program gave some local businesses hope of recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic. But others found it an empty promise as a flood of applications drained the program's funding.

The U.S. Small Business Administration announced Thursday morning funding for the federal stimulus package program had been depleted.

“I think that program was intended for businesses like me, and it failed,” said long-time, local small business owner Barry Cummings, owner of Cummings Candy & Coffee.

With four locations in Butler County — including the shop on Main Street in downtown Butler — Cummings said he had all of his necessary documents prepared days ahead of the opening of applications. He contends the completely online application submission process proved troublesome. He said the procedure took six hours, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., of submitting and resubmitting documents.

“My application never even made it to the Small Business Association,” Cummings said.

Cummings said he holds his bank responsible for his application getting bogged down in a backlog. He said he had not heard back from the SBA, and he saw Thursday that the program ran out of money.

“Any help is welcome, but this first-come, first-serve basis, it's archaic,” Cummings said. “It's the luck of the draw. It's not fair. It's not equitable.”

Gail Paserba, CEO of International Quality Consultants in Butler Township, had better luck. She received a confirmation email Thursday morning telling her that funds were on their way.

“I screamed 'Woo-hoo' so loud,” Paserba said. “All-in-all, this felt really good.”

Paserba said she too had some technical problems with the online application, but understood why the application had its glitches.

“It was quick and, therefore, it was chaotic,” Paserba said. “When you're rolling out anything in less than 72 hours, that's to be expected.” Paserba and Cummings both reached out to the Butler County Chamber of Commerce for support.

Jordan Grady, chamber executive director, said he will still recommend businesses apply for these opportunities. He said some who did not receive anything should stay optimistic that the government will continue to recognize their need.

“I would imagine we're going to have another stimulus package,” Grady said. “The way things are trending, it almost has to happen.”

Grady said since the application process began, he has been supporting the chamber's membership with information and walkthroughs of the process.

“We ask them who they bank with, and we share our personal contact with their bank,” he said. “On top of that — outside of business — (I'm) being there, being a voice on the phone. Words of encouragement, checking in, I've found to be pretty beneficial so far.”

Grady said the goal is to keep people in business and keep people employed in Butler County.

This is an excerpt of a larger story appearing in Friday's Butler Eagle. To read the full story, make sure to pick up a copy of the paper or subscribe online.