Treasurer’s Small Business Loan Program Helps Boost Local Economy
Media advisory received via email from the office of Lucas County Treasurer Wade Kapszukiewicz :
Treasurer’s Small Business Loan Program Helps Boost Local Economy
110 jobs are being created or retained so far under the program; 12 businesses have received loans since August
Lucas County Treasurer Wade Kapszukiewicz announced that 12 small businesses have been awarded a total of $1.3 million in loans under the new linked deposit program, which his office launched in August.
Because of the program, he said, 110 jobs are being created or retained in Lucas County, with 53 being new jobs and 57 being existing ones.
“The program has exceeded our wildest expectations, and it has only been in existence for just over three months,” Kapszukiewicz said. “This is a model for how a public-private partnership can help create jobs and grow the economy.”
Kapszukiewicz gave an update on the linked deposit program at a news conference on Thursday, December 6th, at the site of one of the program’s 12 loan recipients, MoJoe’s Cafe. The owner, Ed Beczynski, received a $90,000 loan from Fifth Third Bank under the program, and as a result, he will be able to open his store in the Toledo Edison Building in downtown Toledo.
Beczynski, whose venture will create four new jobs, said the Treasurer’s program is the best he has encountered as a small business person.
“This program is business-friendly,” Beczynski said. “The process is much easier and more effective than anything I have ever participated in before. I would encourage every business owner to take advantage of this.”
Under the program, small businesses who commit to create or retain jobs in Lucas County receive low-interest loans at up to 3% below market rates. The loans range between $25,000 and $150,000 and target Lucas County businesses that have fewer than 150 employees and net annual sales of not more than $5 million.
“As a group, small business is the largest single employer in Lucas County,” said Kapszukiewicz, noting that about two-thirds of the new jobs created in the United States over the past three years were created by small businesses. “This program gives a boost to the small business men and women who sacrifice so much of their own time and money to grow our local economy.”
Business men or women interested in obtaining a loan through this program should fill out an application at any local bank branch, just as they would for a typical loan.
All seven local banks who have depository agreements with Lucas County are participating in the program. They are: Fifth Third, First Federal, First Merit, Huntington, KeyBank, National City, and Signature.
Kapszukiewicz praised the role being played by the financial institutions, who have assumed the risk on the loans so there is no risk to the taxpayers.
“Our local banks have shown real leadership in making this public-private partnership a reality,” Kapszukiewicz said. “As County Treasurer, the strength of our economy is of great importance to me, and I intend to work with community and business leaders to support entrepreneurship and create good jobs in Lucas County.”
Kapszukiewicz said the initiative was modeled after the state’s linked deposit program, and that he initially set aside $5 million from the county’s investment portfolio to finance the loan pool. With $1.3 million having been loaned out during the program’s first three months, there is now $3.7 million remaining in the pool.
He said the loans will be up to two years in length and can be renewed once for a consecutive two-year time period.
“Mr. Beczynski is precisely the kind of small businessman who has benefited from this initiative,” Kapszukiewicz said. “My goal as Treasurer is to safeguard taxpayer money and use the office’s financial resources to help move our community forward.
“Programs like this help ensure that our tax dollars work as hard as Lucas County citizens do,” he said.
Anyone with questions about the small business loan program should call the Lucas County Treasurer’s office at 419-213-4303.
I’ll bet none of those jobs will pump mercury into our air, so what good are they?
December 7th, 2007 at 3:51 pmIs doing this considered “Business Friendly”?
December 7th, 2007 at 4:21 pmAnd we wonder why there’s so much negativity in this area. See the first two posts….go-figure.
December 7th, 2007 at 4:22 pmRockets Man, it looks like we can be business friendly without being environment unfriendly or resident unfriendly. I wonder why you think polluting businesses are more important than the people, the planet, and the non-polluting businesses.
December 7th, 2007 at 5:10 pmSo if Fort Wayne, Indiana opens their arms for U.S. Coking Plant then it means we are out of 150 jobs. Then y’all will be b*tching that we didn’t do enough to retain or create jobs. I think people are overreacting too much over this coking plant as if it’s as polluting from the pre-Clean Air Act, I hardly think so.
December 7th, 2007 at 6:59 pmSensor, yes I would think this latest action by the local banks encouraged by the County Treasurer would be “business friendly” behavior.
Interesting observation Rockets Man and true, the plant is not polluting at the pre-Clean air act standards because once in a while we do learn from our past.
The Columbus Dispatch series that I linked a few posts below has some pictures that demonstrate the type of pollution we used to live through, thankfully we don’t have to live like that anymore.
December 7th, 2007 at 7:09 pmRockets Man, I didn’t mean to come off snarky.
I’ll be interest to see if WSPD spends as much time talking and promoting this “business friendly” action by the county as it did bad mouthing the county over getting a Poet Laureate.
December 7th, 2007 at 9:07 pmI did however mean to come off snarky with the second half of my above post…
December 7th, 2007 at 9:08 pmSensor, we all still like you whether you are snarky or not. WSPD will never do anything or say anything with common sense in my book. Maybe with Maggie on a good day.
BTW, since I forgot to say my “congrats” to Dr. Joel Lipman to be selected as the Poet Laureate for Lucas County, brilliant move and well-deserved.
December 7th, 2007 at 10:42 pmHope that these businesses don’t default on those loans!
December 11th, 2007 at 12:42 pmBusiness loans are a staple nowadays for small businesses. Success doesn’t come easily especially to those who are venturing out for the first time so loans come as a necessity to keep things going. Thanks for the info!
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Am I the only one that heard the soft “click” of a ball and chain around someone’s ankle?
December 21st, 2007 at 4:23 pm