Questions About Loans

To the Editor:

I have made an open records request with the city of La Grange for a list of businesses that were approved or denied for the Utility Grant and the Covid-19 Forgivable Microloan. Just a list. Not anything else.

The City Attorney is trying to make this into more than it is.

I was turned down for both of these. I requested this information to see if the tax payers money was awarded fairly. I was told that franchises were not eligible. The application say locally owned independent businesses are eligible. There is another grant “Texas Restaurant Association” that the EDC is associated with that states franchises are not eligible. I did not apply for this one. Independent restaurants and businesses are typically owned locally and are run by locals not a corporate office somewhere else. Independent restaurant owners usually only have one or two restaurants in a small radius and they manage those restaurants themselves. Chain restaurants are corporate restaurant chains with a board of owners. I personally own my business, building and property. I pay the property tax, the payroll taxes and collect the sales tax just like every business that was awarded these grants and forgivable loans.

The franchise that I’m associated with is not any different than a restaurant inside a gas station with a name brand or a pizza place in several other towns. A coffee shop or seafood restaurant in more than one location. Other communities have released the names of businesses they have helped and newspapers have done stories on them.

I am just asking to be treated the same as everyone else.

Tom Hudson

Winchester