IV. Small Business Attraction, Creation, Retention, and Expansion
Goal: To facilitate job creation within the Zone by providing assistance and incentives to small businesses. The purpose and intent of these strategies is to provide assistance to new or expanding businesses through a Loan Interest Subsidy
Program and a Matching Capital Improvement Program.
Strategy 1: Loan Interest Subsidy Program
The program will provide a financial incentive to an approved commercial, professional services, or industrial business that will provide a determined number of qualified full time permanent jobs. The program will fund interest payments for businesses
loans of $100,000 or more. The maximum interest that can be subsidized is $200,000 over a five year period.
Program Guidelines
4.0 Introduction
In order to participate in this program a business must be approved for eligibility by the NBEDZ and must agree to all terms of a performance agreement.
4.1 Eligibility
To be considered for the program each applicant must:
- Be a commercial, professional service, or industrial business that increases job growth in the community and increases commercial, industrial and/or professional services to the North Brevard Area; the business cannot have qualified for assistance
under the High Wage Program.
- Be pre-qualified for a loan, including lines of credit, with a commitment letter from a financial institution or a lender that meets the approval of the NBEDZ board prior to the application
submittal.
- Demonstrate that the incentive/s and other assistance will make a material difference in the decision to remain, expand or locate in the North Brevard Area;
- Demonstrate the economic impact that such a project would have on the area with projected return of investments of Zone resources and net new tax revenues to the City and County;
- Generate a 5 to 1 return-on-investment over a 10 year period. The return-on-investment may include but is not limited to a defined number of full time permanent jobs, amount of capital investment, improvement in the taxable values of the parcel and
surrounding parcels, and other criteria as deemed acceptable to the NBEDZ.
4.2 Required Information
Applicants will be required to provide the following:
- A full company description and overview outlining experience, financial capacity, and capabilities;
- Last three years of reviewed financial statements and federal corporate tax returns, plus the most recent financial statements for the current fiscal year if available; or in some other manner demonstrate financial capability or capacity; or detailed
business plan (for new businesses) outlining investments as described in Section D below.
- Approval from the local government regarding zoning and location requirements for any new businesses or expansions that require permitting;
- A detailed business plan including financial projections, total investments in the project from all resources as well as assistance required from Zone resources;
- Anticipated start date for the project;
- Explanation of why the incentive is needed to facilitate the new or expanding business; and
- Any additional information requested by the NBEDZ.
4.3 Award Procedure
NBEDZ staff will evaluate the proposal and report recommendations to the NBEDZ Board. The NBEDZ Board
will make the final decision to approve or deny the application. Criteria such as the following will be utilized.
- Number and types of full time permanent jobs created and compensation paid;
- Total private capital investment;
- Impact on local economy and tax base;
- Consistency with NBEDZ Economic Development Plan objectives;
- Relative merit of competing proposals;
- Availability of funding at time of application; and
- Other relevant factors depending on the nature of a particular project.
4.4 Administration
An approved applicant and the NBEDZ will enter into a performance grant agreement that, at a minimum, sets forth the following:
- Award amount;
- Performance conditions the applicant must satisfy to obtain incentive payments (e.g., employment, capital investment, improvements);
- Verification methodology;
- Schedule of performance grant payments; and
- Sanctions for failure to meet performance conditions, including any clawback provisions.
Strategy 2: Matching Capital Investment Program
The program will provide a financial incentive to an approved commercial, professional services, or industrial business that will provide a determined number of qualified full time permanent jobs. At the discretion of the NBEDZ the
Program will provide a financial contribution or repayable loans to new or expanding businesses which make a minimum investment of $100,000 for necessary capital equipment, renovations, and/or improvements. These funds may equal up to a dollar for
dollar match of the capital investment commitment of the business up to a maximum amount as determined and approved by the NBEDZ Board.
Program Guidelines
4.5 Introduction
In order to participate in this program a business must be approved for eligibility by the NBEDZ and must agree to all terms of a performance agreement.
4.6 Eligibility
To be considered for the program each applicant must:
- Be an existing or new business located with the zone that does not qualify for incentives under the High Wage Program;
- Undertake qualified capital investments that include expansion of, or improvement of an existing building, acquisition of machinery or equipment, excluding software and/or website development. Software for machinery used for production or prototyping
is eligible.
- Demonstrate that in the absence of the funding requested that the project described in the application would be unable to go forward and that the applicant has applied for and been denied funding from other funding sources, or that if funding was
approved from another source that the funding requested from the NBEDZ is required to meet the lenders/grantors equity requirements;
- Generate a 5 to 1 return-on-investment over a 10 year period. The return-on-investment may include but is not limited to a defined number of full time permanent jobs, amount of capital investment, improvement in the taxable values of the parcel and
surrounding parcels, and other criteria as deemed acceptable to the NBEDZ.
4.7 Required Information
Applicants will be required to provide the following:
- A full company description and overview outlining experience, financial capacity, and capabilities;
- Last three years of reviewed financial statements and federal corporate tax returns, plus the most recent financial statements for the current fiscal year if available; or in some other manner demonstrate financial capability or capacity; or detailed
business plan (for new businesses) as described in Section D below.
- Approval from the local government regarding zoning and location requirements for any new businesses or expansions that require permitting;
- A detailed business plan including financial projections, total investments in the project from all resources as well as assistance required from Zone resources;
- A detailed description of the project, including two bid/cost proposals for the improvements by two separate contractor/consultants;
- Anticipated start date for the project;
- Explanation of why the incentive is needed to facilitate the new or expanding business; and
- Any additional information requested by the NBEDZ.
4.8 Award Procedure
NBEDZ staff will evaluate the proposal and report recommendations to the NBEDZ Board. The NBEDZ Board
will make the final decision to approve or deny the application. Criteria such as the following will be utilized.
- Number and types of full time permanent jobs created and compensation paid;
- Total private capital investment;
- Impact on local economy and tax base;
- Consistency with NBEDZ Economic Development Plan objectives;
- Relative merit of competing proposals;
- Availability of funding at time of application; and
- Other relevant factors depending on the nature of a particular project.
4.9 Administration
An approved applicant and the NBEDZ will enter into a performance grant agreement that, at a minimum, sets forth the following:
- Award amount;
- Performance conditions the applicant must satisfy to obtain incentive payments (e.g., employment, capital investment, improvement completions);
- Verification methodology;
- Schedule of performance grant payments; and
- Sanctions for failure to meet performance conditions, including any clawback provisions.