Mayor Jean Stothert said she wants to help bars and restaurants get back to pre-pandemic levels of business.
To help achieve that goal, Stothert has adjusted the collection of the Omaha restaurant tax.
“I made a decision with our finance director to go ahead and wave the restaurant tax late fee,” Stothert told 6 News.
From March 1st through the end of the year, any late fees will be forgiven and not collected. If a restaurant has paid late fees since March 1st the city will give it a credit.
“We’ll credit that back just to try as much as we can to assist those bars and restaurants to get back on their feet again,” Stothert said.
Clyde Bronson manages "BergerIM" in the Capitol District downtown.
“This year has been really crazy,” Bronson said. He lost around $20,000 alone when the College World Series was canceled.
“That hurt us financially. Now everything is the same; it’s slow,” Bronson said.
He said with money tight, a safety net lets him breathe a little easier.
“That does help for "BurgerIM" because we are a small, locally owned business. It helps us save and build-up for the end of the year,” Bronson said.
Bars and restaurants still need to make sure their taxes are paid in full by the end of the year.
The city finance department reports around $80,000 in late fees have been collected since March and will be credited.