BRENDA DAY
Health Officer
(207) 647-8786 (main)
(207) 803-9963 (direct)
bday@bridgtonmaine.org

TIPS FOR MAINTAINING INCOME/CASH FLOW

  1. Conduct business on line
  2. Email past customers discounted offers for future business if they pay or make a deposit now.
  3. Sell discounted gift cards that can be redeemed for a greater value on line or by email.
  4. Start a “Go fund page” that does the above items.
  5. Use this down time to do telemarketing to develop leads for when things return to normal.

Anyone with a positive Covid -19 Test can text 22300 with questions along with 211 number to stay connected with the CDC for help.

12/28/20 Maine will receive another 10k Vaccines to cover the first phase of  Vaccinations

  • Resources for the general public

    • Southern Maine Agency of Aging & Meals on Wheels – 396-6500
    • Miss Graffin: Social Worker – 393-3106
    • Tri County Mental Health—Bridgton – 647-5629
    • Tri County State – 24/7 Contact – 1-888-568-1112
    • Lake Region Recovery Center – 803-8707
    • Dealing with Addition Contact Kelli at 809-9246 or visit https://www.maineaccesspoints.org/
    • Through These Doors Domestic Violence Resources and Advocacy- Available 24/7 at 1-800-537-6066 or https://www.throughthesedoors.org/
    • Senior Plus Aging Disability Resources – 1-800-427-1241 ext. 3150
    • 211 Maine 24/7 – Information about basic needs, housing, health, DHHS Partners with United Way, and Opportunity Alliance.
    • 511 New England Wide Area Alerts and Road Condition Update
    • Disease Reporting and Consultation Line: 1-800-821-5821
    • Business Answers at ME Dep. of Economic & Community Development: 1-800-872-3838

During this period of uncertainty, many Bridgton small businesses- near and dear to our hearts- have either had to shut down or operate in new and challenging ways. As residents, our families and lives are also facing disruption. We recognize the stress this puts on our community and are addressing your concerns by providing resources with information on how to minimize losses. We encourage participation via Town of Bridgton social media where ideas may be shared among community members.

For the most up-to-date State of Maine COVID-19 Response Information click here.

Looking for more information on COVID-19 Vaccinations or Testing? Please reach out to the Lakes Region Community Health Advocate at 207-800-5126 for assistance.

 


CARES ACT of 2020

  • Recovery Rebates

    Recovery rebates for Individuals– Income Tax rebates of $1,200 ($2,400 in the case of eligible individuals filing a joint return), plus $500 for each qualifying child for households with income up to $150,000 in the case of a joint return, $112,500 in the case of a head of household, and $75,000 in the case of all other taxpayers. For households over these limits the amounts shall be reduced by 5% of the amount of income over these limits.

  • Unemployment Insurance

    Unemployment Insurance –  recently signed into law is the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), which provided additional flexibility for state unemployment insurance agencies and additional administrative funding to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. The CARES act expands states’ ability to provide unemployment insurance for many workers impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, including for workers who are not ordinarily eligible for unemployment benefits. In order to apply you need to contact Maine’s unemployment insurance program.

  • Retirement Plans

    Retirement plans: The five main areas of retirement planning impacted by the CARES Act are: required minimum distributions, 401(k) loans, Social Security benefits, the new coronavirus-related distribution exception, and charitable giving. Forbes published an article detailing the changes in each of these areas.

  • Payroll Tax Delay

    Payroll tax delay-The CARES Act will allow employers and self-employed individuals, to defer paying their portion of the Social Security payroll tax  otherwise due with respect to wages accrued between March 27, 2020 and December 31, 2020. The deferred amounts will ultimately have to be paid to the U.S. Treasury in two installments. Half of the deferred amount of payroll taxes from 2020 will be due December 31, 2021, with the remaining half due December 31, 2022. Detailed information can be found here.

  • Telehealth

    Telehealth- CMS and the Federal Government have lifted many restrictions on the use of telehealth (telemedicine). Services now available include:

    • Medicare patients in all settings can receive telehealth services
    • Physicians may provide telehealth services to NEW and existing patients
    • Medicare will pay physicians for all telehealth services, not just related to COVID-19
    • Physicians can now provide audio-only telephone evaluation

    The American Medical Association (AMA) has posted information that is useful to both physicians and patients.

  • Net Operating Losses

    Net operating losses- The CARES Act temporarily suspends retroactively changes made to the treatment of net operating losses by the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the “2017 Tax Act”). It also suspends retroactively the limitation on excess business losses added to the Internal Revenue Code by the 2017 Tax Act. These changes will result in some taxpayers receiving refunds on taxes previously paid for 2018 and 2019 taxable years. The IRS provides guidance under CARES Act to tax payers with NOL.

  • Small Business Loans

    Small Business Loans

    Pay Check Protection Program -will provide cash-flow assistance through 100 percent federally guaranteed loans to employers who maintain their payroll during this emergency. If employers maintain their payroll, the loans would be forgiven, which would help workers remain employed, as well as help affected small businesses and our economy snap-back quicker after the crisis. Features include: forgiveness of up to 8 weeks of payroll based on employee retention and salary levels, no SBA fees, and at least six months of deferral with maximum deferrals of up to a year. Small businesses and other eligible entities will be able to apply if they were harmed by COVID-19 between February 15, 2020 and June 30, 2020. This program would be retroactive to February 15, 2020, in order to help bring workers who may have already been laid off back onto payrolls. Loans are available through June 30, 2020.

    Debt Relief Program-will provide immediate relief to small businesses with non-disaster SBA loans, in particular 7(a), 504, and microloans. Under it, SBA will cover all loan payments on these SBA loans, including principal, interest, and fees, for six months. This relief will also be available to new borrowers who take out loans within six months of the President signing the bill into law.

    There are many other components to the program for varied situations. Please visit SBA.gov for more information.

  • Employee Retention Credits

    Employee Retention Credit-The CARES Act is designed to encourage Eligible Employers to keep employees on their payroll, despite experiencing economic hardship related to COVID-19, with an employee retention tax credit. The Employee Retention Credit is a fully refundable tax credit for employers equal to 50 percent of qualified wages (including allocable qualified health plan expenses) that Eligible Employers pay their employees. This Employee Retention Credit applies to qualified wages paid after March 12, 2020, and before January 1, 2021. The maximum amount of qualified wages taken into account with respect to each employee for all calendar quarters is $10,000, so that the maximum credit for an Eligible Employer for qualified wages paid to any employee is $5,000. Visit the IRS for more information.

  • Flexibility for use of CDBG funds used to support COVID-19 response

    Bridgton is a recipient of CDBG (Community Development Block Grant) funds annually and uses it to support programs such as the Community Center Navigator Program and the Food Pantry. The Town was recently notified by Cumberland County of additional relief funds available for planning and resources related to COVID-19 and is actively putting together a plan for helping residents. More information about the federal funding can be found here.

  • Fishing and Hunting Changes

    If you hunt wild turkey you will want to review the Executive Order issued on April 21st that list a number of changes to the season and requirements.

    This order also includes changes to fishing derby and bass tournament permits.

General Requests and Questions

    Concern Reporting