ICYMI: The Sun Gazette: Tulare County nearly stranded without disaster loans
Tulare County nearly stranded without disaster loans
"The coronavirus has unfortunately jeopardized the economic well-being of this area, because people are concerned with protecting the health and safety of themselves and their families," said Rep. TJ Cox.
By Reggie Ellis
The federal government is offering low-interest, deferred payment loans to small businesses faced with paying employees and vendors without the cash flow provided by customers. Tulare County businesses are eligible for these loans, but that wasn’t the case just a week ago.
When the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) announced on March 12 it would provide low interest, deferred payment loans to small businesses impacted by shelter-in-place rules across the country, a handful of Central Valley counties were not among those eligible for the financial tool.
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Congressman T.J. Cox sent a letter to Gov. Gavin Newsom asking him to invoke a section of the Small Business Act that permit a Governor to certify an area has suffered “economic injury” as the result of a disaster and in need of financial assistance that is not available on “reasonable terms and conditions” in the absence of a disaster declaration by the President, which didn’t come for another five days.
“The coronavirus has unfortunately jeopardized the economic well-being of this area, because people are concerned with protecting the health and safety of themselves and their families.” said Rep. TJ Cox.“Both our local firms and residents are feeling the impact of the coronavirus. Small businesses tend to have little cash reserves, and limited ability to raise capital. As a result, such small firms are unable to meet the financial demands when unforeseen disasters occur. […] SBA’s assistance can help address these problems immediately and help our residents begin to recover.”
On March 19, the SBA responded by adding Tulare, Kings and Fresno to the list of eligible counties. Dawn Golik, district director for SBA’s Fresno Office, said initially 30 counties were eligible for disaster relief loans due to COVID-19, but now all 58 California counties are eligible. Golik encouraged every business to apply, as each loan is reviewed on a case-by-case basis.