Submitted by City of Tumwater
To our Tumwater Business Community:
The COVID-19 Pandemic has already impacted and will likely continue to generate significant economic and employment challenges in our community and beyond. The City is doing all that we can to minimize the impact on our residents and businesses – and to help where we can. We have created a webpage to assist businesses impacted by COVID-19, visit www.ci.tumwater.wa.us and click on Resources for Businesses. We are also extending support by offering these considerations to the business community:
Payment Plans for Utility Services
The City is suspending water shut-off for non-payment and late payment penalties are suspended during this public health emergency. Payment plan options are available for residential and commercial customers impacted by COVID-19. Questions? Staff are available to assist by email at utilitybilling@ci.tumwater.wa.us or by phone at (360) 754-4133, 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday.
Tax Relief for Businesses
To ease the financial impact of the COVID-19 outbreak, the City is offering relief to businesses by extending the B&O tax filing and payment deadline until later this year.
- 1st Quarter 2020 B&O tax filing deadline is extended to July 31, 2020.
- This is an option for businesses who need help getting through the current financial hardship they may be experiencing due to COVID-19. Businesses may continue to file on a quarterly basis.
Questions? Staff are available to assist by email at botax@ci.tumwater.wa.us or by phone at (360) 754-4136, 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday.
Temporary Suspension of Plastic Bag Ordinance
We want your employees and customers to feel comfortable. Accordingly, the City has temporarily suspended enforcement of the single-use plastic bag ordinance during the declared public health emergency, to meet the increasing demand for groceries and other supplies, and to protect the health of grocery workers and shoppers. This is effective through the end of April.
Economic Recovery with Thurston Strong
We believe a regional approach will best-position our business community to survive and recover from this unprecedented challenge. Local municipalities have teamed with workforce and economic development partners to form a Regional Economic Recovery Task Force.
The Task Force is focused on three core objectives:
- Identifying federal and state economic stimulus opportunities to provide immediate employer support and relief
- Connecting businesses to technical assistance and resources to bridge near-term challenges
- Positioning Thurston County to track and obtain long-range recovery funding
Visit www.thurstonstrong.org, where you can also sign-up for updates as new resources come online.
We value our Tumwater business community. I realize this is an extremely stressful time for our residents and businesses as we deal with the uncertainty of this highly contagious disease. Our community is resilient and caring. I am confident we will pull out of this when the virus subsides.
I always welcome your feedback and suggestions.
Sincerely,
Pete Kmet
Mayor
