Economic Development Advisory Board Welcomes Mumma

Mumma, sworn in to her new term on the Effingham County Board, succeeds county board member Jeff Simpson on the Advisory Board. The Board reviewed current loans made to new and expanding businesses and talked with Mumma about past practices of loaning funds.

A loan of $35,000 was recently made to Two Guys Pallets, an effort by two local residents to resume a pallet business along South Banker that was damaged by fire earlier this year. That leaves just short of $17,000 available for loans to new or expanding businesses.

The funding available to the Advisory Board originally came from a state grant to the county. The county, in turn, can loan the funds at low rates for short terms. Once the funds are repaid by the businesses, they are re-loaned to additional businesses. Typically, the funds are loaned to firms unable to obtain funding from financial institutions.

The advisory board Tuesday discussed whether there are other funding sources available to increase the amount of available funds, although Advisory Board Chairman David Campbell pointed out that the repayment rate has been good so it usually isn't long before the pot of money is replenished.

Anyone interested in borrowing the funds should contact the County Board office at 342-4990.