Julian Cyr
TRURO – Cape and Islands State Senator Julian Cyr’s maiden senate chamber speech was in support of a $1.25 million increase to the Small Business Technical Assistance (SBTA) grant program.
Amendment 2 to the state budget would provide opportunities to local businesses statewide by providing grants for community organizations to distribute.
Microloans, business counseling and other forms of support are funded through that money.
He cited formative years growing up in his parents’ restaurant as first-hand experience in small businesses and their positive effects on communities.
“A generation ago, you could build a life and make a good living in the trades, hospitality, or in our fishery,” he said. “Now, without some support or independent wealth, this is hard to do.”
Cyr spoke of his rural background in Truro, a community where, he said, everyone not working for the town relied on small businesses in some way.
Factors like mounting demands, out-of-state real estate markets, the increasing cost of goods, a limited workforce and corporate competition which focuses only on the bottom line were cited by Cyr as the largest challenges to small business owners in recent years.
Cyr’s parents opened their restaurant in 1985 in the center of Truro with a family loan.
He said 1,056 new jobs were created in 2016 thanks to the SBTA grants.
The Massachusetts State Senate approved the amendment unanimously.
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