LORAIN - Potentially looking at a loss of thousands in federal pandemic money, some of the nearly $60,000 in total gift cards distributed by the city have lost value. Back in July of 2021, the City of Lorain distributed $10 pandemic gift cards as a courtesy to residents who have been vaccinated against COVID-19.
According to Lorain Mayor Jack Bradley, he was unaware that the cards would start losing value if they were not used within a year, this is per the agreement the city inked with MetaBank National Association to process the gift cards.
All of this led to much confusion among Lorain residents, some of which who went to spend the $10 only to find about $4 available. Mayor Bradley also says there are still nearly 1200 gift cards that have yet to be distributed but are also losing value.