County officials acted quickly to snap up two state grants totaling more than $14 million that will help renters, restaurants and hotels affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

Leslie Osche, county commissioners chairwoman, said the county received $12 million from the state Legislature for rental and utility assistance.

Those who need help paying their utility bills and renters struggling to pay their landlords will be able to apply for the funds soon, Osche said.

She said the funds would help county residents who work in restaurants, hotels, small businesses and other fields that were hard hit by the coronavirus pandemic.

“Our hope is this is really going to help employees of those industries who have seen decreases in income or who were laid off,” Osche said.

She said school superintendents have been talking with families who have never needed assistance before, but now find themselves in financial straits because of employment issues associated with the pandemic.

Osche hopes those families will apply for the grant funds to relieve debt or difficulty in other areas of their household budgets.

“If they can get assistance on this end, other needs they have can be met, whether it's health care or medication or college loans,” she said. “For people who have paid their taxes and never asked for assistance, now is the time to ask.”

She said the county will announce when residents can apply for rental or utility assistance.

No mortgage assistance is included in the grant, Osche said.

Mark Gordon, the county chief of economic development and planning, said the county also received a $2.2 million grant from the state Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) for assistance in the hospitality industry.He said owners of businesses in the hospitality industry, such as restaurants and hotels, will be able to apply for up to $50,000 for reimbursement for expenses incurred because of the pandemic as well as for pandemic-related loss of revenue.“The restaurant and hotel businesses have suffered tremendously through COVID-19,” Gordon said.He said the DCED only allowed counties until 5 p.m. Thursday to apply for the grant. As a result, Gordon and Ann Brown, county budget and human services finance director, began to immediately work on it and finished it Wednesday.“I will never complain about any of that because Ann and I are always on top of those things,” Gordon said. “We really don't care what it takes, day or night because we are truly committed to getting every dollar we can for the people and businesses in Butler County.”Osche said while the county will use the Center for Community Resources to distribute the rental and utility grant, a company will be hired to manage the hospitality grant through the bidding process.