Breckenridge Texan

The Breckenridge Economic Development Corporation (BEDC) announced on Tuesday, May 5, that it is implementing a COVID-19 Recovery Emergency Loan Program. The new temporary loan program is designed to provide assistance to help Stephens County small businesses recover from the financial impacts of the economic crisis caused by the novel coronavirus pandemic.

“The BEDC created this program to help our local businesses who have suffered as a result of COVID-19 and low oil prices,” Virgil Moore, Executive Director of the BEDC, said in a press release. “The purpose of this Recovery Program is to provide working capital which may equal up to one month’s expenses for existing small businesses within Stephens County. Through the program, $200,000 in total funds have been allocated from BEDC’s Revolving Loan Fund.”

The BEDC will provide loans which may be used to pay operating expenses including payroll, not to exceed $10,000 per business. All loans will be interest free and have a 30-month repayment schedule with 6-months first payment deferral. The small business loans are being made available to all types of businesses, including Sole Proprietors, home-based businesses, LLC’s, corporations, etc., from the BEDC in the form of a Promissory Note between the business owner and the BEDC.  The application period for this loan will remain open until May 29, 2020, or until funding has been exhausted.

To qualify for funding under the program, the business applicant must meet all of the following criteria:

• Business must be physically located in Stephens County and must be in compliance with all applicable zoning, land use, and other ordinances. Non-profit businesses do not qualify for the COVID-19 Recovery Emergency Loan Program.
• Business must have 50 or fewer employees.
• Business must have been in operation for at least 6 months.
• Business must be in good standing (financial and compliance) with the BEDC and creditors.
• Business must submit a complete application packet including:
  • Completed application form,
  • Most recent tax returns,
  • Balance sheet, and
  • Profit-and-loss statements for the last six months.
• There is a limit of one loan per applicant.
• Once awarded, a Promissory Note will be executed to complete the loan process and initiate payment of funds.
• Award of these loan funds may impact funding from other Federal and State programs. Applicant should check terms of other such grant and loan programs.
• Application for this program does not guarantee award of funding. Funding will be awarded at the sole discretion of the BEDC Loan Committee and based on need, investment, and availability.

“If you have a business that needs a little help in getting through this hardship, we urge you to print and fill out the application form on our website, https://www.breckenridgetexas.com/edc/covid19loanprogram/.  You may also pick up and submit your application at the BEDC office at 100 East Elm in Breckenridge, or email the competed forms to officemanager@breckenridgetexas.com,” Moore added.  “It is a pretty simple application.  We will have a very quick turn-around from the time we receive your application until it is approved and funded, or let you know if it is denied.”

Moore also encourages all local businesses that have not applied for the Small Business Administration’s PPP (Payroll Protection Program) Loan at a local lending institutions, that loans are still available through round two of stimulus funds.

“The rate of approval for these loans has been high,” he said. “Even sole proprietors may be eligible for these loans, which in many cases, do not have to be paid back.  If you have not talked to your banker about a PPP loan, I urge you to do so as soon as possible.”