By Barbara Pinckney<\/p>\n
The Economic Development Corp. of
\nWarren County is putting the finishing
\ntouches on a $500,000 revolving loan fund
\nfor area businesses.<\/p>\n
Ed Bartholomew, president of the EDC,
\nsaid the organization is partnering with
\nthe Washington County Local Development
\nCorp. and local banks on the program,
\nwhich would be administered by the EDC.<\/p>\n
Half of the money would come from a
\nstate grant the two economic development
\norganizations won in 2011, he said. The
\nother $250,000 would come from the banks.
\nBartholomew said the EDC is in discussions
\nwith several financial institutions
\nthat operate in the two counties, and it
\nis not yet known which ones will be participating.
\nThe fund would make loans ranging from
\nabout $15,000 to about $100,000 to businesses
\nin Warren and Washington counties.<\/p>\n
Most recipients would be existing
\ncompanies in need of working capital or
\nlooking to expand or purchase equipment.
\nBartholomew said start-up businesses will
\nbe considered for loans if there are experienced
\npeople involved.<\/p>\n
All borrowers will need to prove they are
\ncredit worthy. With a revolving loan fund,
\nall money repaid is returned to the pot and
\nlent out to other borrowers.<\/p>\n
“That is the beauty of the program–that
\nthe money stays locally and does not go
\nback to the state,” Bartholomew said.
\nBartholomew said there is always a
\nneed for capital for small businesses, but
\nhe sees demand growing as the economy
\nimproves.<\/p>\n
“I think 2014 has been a stronger year
\nin terms of existing businesses seriously
\nthinking about undertaking some expansion
\nor purchasing some equipment,” he
\nsaid. “Some of that is moving forward,
\nwhile some [businesses are] waiting to
\nsee how the year concludes before they
\nsign on the dotted line.<\/p>\n
“But I think 2014 will end up being a better
\nyear than 2013 and I am very optimistic
\nthat next year will be even greater in terms
\nof increases in expansions or increases
\nin business equipment purchases by area
\nbusinesses.”<\/p>\n
The new loan fund would join several
\nalready offered through the EDC, including
\nthe Greater Glens Falls LDC Revolving
\nLoan Fund, the Adirondack Economic Development
\nCorp. Micro-Loan Program and
\nthe Lake Champlain Lake George Regional
\nPlanning Board Revolving Loan Fund.
\n“This is another good opportunity to
\nprovide loans in Warren and Washington
\ncounties,” Bartholomew said.<\/p>\n
He said the goal is to have the new fund
\nbegin operating on Jan. 1.
\nJan. 1 also is the day the EDC’s marriage
\nof convenience to the Hudson River Local
\nDevelopment Corp. should become official.<\/p>\n
Bartholomew said Hudson River LDC
\nwas formed about 10 years ago for economic
\ndevelopment purposes and has been
\nadministered by the EDC. It has a board of
\ndirectors, but no staff.<\/p>\n
Due to some subsequent changes in
\nstate law, there is no longer a need for separate organizations.
\n“They can all merge under the one
\numbrella of EDC of Warren County,” Bartholomew
\nsaid. “It is really a merger of
\nconvenience and cost savings.”
\nHe said that by eliminating duplicate
\nfiling, audits, record keeping and so on,
\nthe merger could trim the combined
\norganization’s expenses by as much as
\n$35,000 a year.
\n“That is a decent savings,” Bartholomew
\nsaid.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By Barbara Pinckney The Economic Development Corp. of Warren County is putting the finishing touches on a $500,000 revolving loan fund for area businesses. Ed Bartholomew, president of the EDC, said the organization is partnering with the Washington County…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":88,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[66,84,135],"yoast_head":"\r\n