Swift County Loan Program Guidelines and Application

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Swift County Rural Development Authority

1228 Atlantic Ave

Benson MN 56215

Swift County Loan Program Guidelines

and Application

Swift County RDA

1228 Atlantic Ave

Benson MN 56215

320-842-4769

[email protected]

www.swiftcounty.com

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Swift County Loan Programs Application Guidelines

Purpose Statement

The Swift County Revolving Loan Funds (RLF) exist to allow the Swift County Board and the Swift

County Rural Development Finance Authority Board to invest in the growth and development of

businesses in Swift County by investing, through loans, in projects that meet the criteria outlined in

this document.

Goals and Objectives

Goal 1 To assist entrepreneurs by providing the gap financing required to encourage capital

investment, enhance the tax base, create jobs, generate wealth among the residents, and

allow for the improvement of the quality of life in Swift County

Objective 1.1. Provide gap finance to qualified applicants on an as needed basis

Objective 1.2. Leverage other financing to reduce the primary lenders’ security risk,

enhance project affordability, and demonstrate a collaborative spirit

Objective 1.3. Take prudent risks to enable the development of new, innovative, and/or

essential enterprises

Goal 2 To enhance the role of Swift County in economic development activities in collaboration with

others

Objective 2.1. Provide expertise in the area of economic development finance

Objective 2.2. Secure funding for the RLF’s from various public and private sources

Objective 2.3. Operate the RLF’s as perpetual funds, planning long into the future for their

viability

History of the Revolving Loan Fund

The Revolving Loan Fund made its first loans in the 1990’s after loans originating from the

Department of Employment and Economic Development were made to local companies. As the

loans were repaid, a portion of the funding remained with Swift County in order to create a local

loan fund. Both State and Federal funds have been used to fund the program, each having

specific use of funds guidelines.

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Public Purpose

Currently the question of public purpose regarding loan funds is established by State Statute.

Listed below are a few components of the State Statute.

 Creation or retention of living wage private sector jobs in order to stimulate economic

growth.

 Leverage of private investment to ensure economic renewal and competitiveness.

 Increase the local tax base; improve employment and economic opportunity for citizens.

 Stimulation of productivity growth through improved manufacturing and new

technologies.

 Demonstrating that investment of public dollars induces private funds.

 Demonstrating there are excessive public infrastructure or improvement costs beyond

the means of the affected community and private participants in the project.

 Provides higher wage levels to the community or will add value to current workforce

skills.

 Assistance is necessary to retain existing businesses.

 Assistance is necessary to attract out-of-state businesses.

 Expand and diversify the Swift County economy.

Additional criteria above and beyond these can be adopted

Loan Guidelines

Swift County has two pools of loan funds. One is held by the Swift County Board where loans are

typically for more than $25,000, and the other is held by the Swift County RDA and loans are

typically for less than $25,000.

Preferred Eligible Borrowers

1. Businesses located in Swift County

2. Manufacturing businesses

3. Retail and service businesses

Eligible Uses of Loan Funds

1. Real Estate

a. Renovations to existing business building(s) (may require Davis-Bacon)

b. New business building construction

c. Property acquisition

2. Machinery and Equipment

a. Fixed assets

b. Rolling (non fixed) assets

3. Working Capital (only as part of a larger financing package)

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Ineligible Uses of Loan Funds

1. Investment for the purpose of speculation in non tangible item(s)

2. Debt refinancing for a non sound business purpose(s)

3. Personal (non-business) use(s)

Maximum Loan Amount: Loans are generally limited to $125,000

Variance considered for pass through situations (e.g. DEED MN Investment Fund Grant).

Minimum Loan Amount: $10,000

Special consideration for smaller loans given for qualifying Micro Loans

Loan Term (a balloon at five years typically applies to anything over five years)

Real Estate: 15 year maximum amortization

Machinery and Equipment: 10 year maximum amortization

Working Capital: 5 year maximum

Interest Rate

All loans are made at a fixed rate for a five year period

Rate will match or be lower than primary lender’s rate

Security/Collateral

1. A first security/collateral position is desired if asset(s) available

2. Subordinated security/collateral position is acceptable if first is not available

3. Share security/collateral position is also acceptable

Equity

1. Minimum of 5% owner equity is required for Micro Loans ($10,000 or less)

2. Five to thirty percent owner equity for all other projects is desired

Reporting

Periodic reporting of financial condition of the business must be provided upon request

Application Process

1. Applicants must complete the loan application and provide all required supporting

documentation (see checklist).

2. The complete loan application is considered first by the Loan Committee – final

approvals are then required by the Swift County RDA Board or for loans over

$25,000, the Swift County Board of Commissioners.

3. Loan approval generally takes between 15-35 days upon submittal of a completed

loan application.

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Costs

Borrowers will be responsible to pay the following costs related to the loan:

1. All legal costs incurred by the originator (generally between $500 and $650)

2. Other costs such as filing, recording, and security search fees as needed.

All guidelines listed above are at the discretion of the Swift County Board and/or the Swift County

RDA Board and will be examined periodically to assure they meet the needs for which they were

developed.

Standard Swift County Loan Programs

All loans made must involve a local lender as a greater portion of the financing package unless

otherwise specified by the lending organization.

Manufacturing Loans

The purpose of the Manufacturing Loan Program is to assist new and existing manufacturers to

develop new products, expand into new markets, expand local operations, modernize facilities,

and/or machinery and equipment to meet production demands, etc.

1. Equity desired 5 to 30%

2. Person guarantee(s) required

3. Personal assets may be attached as security/collateral

Retail/Service Loans

The purpose of the Retail/Service Loan Program is to foster the start-up and retention of essential

retail and service types of business in Swift County.

1. Equity desired 5 to 30%

2. Personal guarantee(s) required

3. Personal assets may be attached as security/collateral

Micro Loans

The purpose of the Micro Loan Program is to provide funding to entrepreneurs in the start-up stage

of business where traditional financing is unavailable or unaffordable.

1. Loans of $1,000 to $10,000

2. Primarily for use by home based and incubator type businesses

3. Equity required 5%

4. No local lender required but borrower must develop and maintain a banking

relationship throughout the life of the loan

5. Interest rate and term set at the discretion of the RDA loan committee

6. Personal guarantee(s) required

7. Personal assets may be attached as security/collateral

8. Applicant must complete

Loan applications for other purposes will be considered and projects judged by their own merits.

Project specific circumstances may allow us to vary program guidelines based on the merits of the

project.

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Swift County Rural Development Authority 1228 Atlantic Ave

Benson MN 56215

REVOLVING LOAN FUND

I. APPLICANT INFORMATION

Name of Business ______________________________________________________________________ Business Address_________________________________________________________________________

City Zip code ____________ Business Phone (____)_____________

Website________________________________________

Applicant Name Title__________________________

Address_______________________________________________________________________

City_______________________________State________________ Zip code_____________

Contact Phone ( ) E-mail address_________________________________

Type of Business: □ Sole Proprietorship □ Corporation □ Partnership

□ Limited Liability Corporation □ Limited Liability Partnership

Please list individuals with ownership share in the Business:

Name Address Phone %Ownership

TO BE SIGNED BY APPLICANT

I have willfully furnished this information to the entity indicated on page one of this applications, for the purpose of applying for a loan.

$ I understand the information provided may be reviewed by the appropriate staff, and/or Board(s).

$ I understand that the information I have provided may be made public according to the laws of the State of Minnesota.

$ I am fully aware that if my loan is approved, I will be responsible to pay legal fees incurred by the loan originator and filing or search fees associated with the loan made to me and/or my business.

$ I understand that if approved, the funds provided are a loan and must be paid back to the lender(s) in the time and under the conditions agreed to at the time of approval.

Applicant Signature Date _________________________

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Swift County Rural Development Authority 1228 Atlantic Ave

Benson MN 56215

REVOLVING LOAN FUND

Application

II. NATURE OF LOAN REQUEST

What is the nature of the business?________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________________

Brief description of the project for which funding is sought _________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________________

How much cash equity are you planning to invest in your business venture? $__________________

Total Project Cost $ Amount of Public Loan Request $__________________

Term__________years Interest Rate____________%

Collateral_______________________________ Position_________________________________

Type of Project: Existing Business Expansion New Business

Purchase of Existing Business

Other, please explain________________________

Direct impact of this project on local tax base $ (est. taxable value increase)

Projected job generation within a two-year time frame as a result of this loan:

Existing jobs _______ + Jobs Created _________ = Total _______________

List other benefits to the community you believe will be directly attributable to your project:

__________________________________________________________________________________________

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III. SOURCES AND USES OF FUNDS

Please complete this section for the funding sources you are applying to, or have commitments from for this project.

Sources and Use of Funds

Purposes for which funds are to be used

Swift

County Banks Equity

Other (specify

Other

(specify Total Property

Acquisition $ $ $ $ $ $ $

Site

Improvement

Building

Renovation

New

Construction

Machinery &

Equipment

Working

Capital

Inventory

Debt Financing

Typically

N/A

Other (Specify)

TOTAL

Project Cost and Request Summary

Swift County Bank Equity

Other specify

Other

specify Total

Amount $ $ $ $ $ $ $

% of Project

Cost

Term (years)

Amortization

Interest Rate

Debt Service

Lien Position

Collateral

First Pmt Date

TOTAL

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Contact information for “Banks” and “Other” from Sources and Uses Matrix

Source #1__________________________ Contact Person____________________________ Address_________________________________________ Phone_______________________

Amount_________________________ Use of Funds______________________________

Interest Rate_____________________ Term____________________________________

Debt Service Payment_________________ First Payment Date_________________________

Collateral to be used to secure loan__________________________ Lien Position____________

Debt Service Payment_________________ First Payment Date__________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________________ Source #4__________________________ Contact Person____________________________

Address_________________________________________ Phone_______________________

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IV. JOB CREATION/RETENTION INFORMATION

Provide the following information on the jobs you expect to create and/or retain due to the loan from the Swift County loan program

Job Title # of Jobs Hourly Wages Annual Salary

Are jobs Perm. Or Temp?

Are jobs Full or Part-time?

Expected Hiring Date

Jobs Creation Timetable: Indicate in the following table the quarter following receipt of loan funds when jobs will be added to the firm

Job Title # of Jobs Qtr 1 Qtr 2 Qtr 3 Qtr 4 Qtr 5 Qtr 6 Qtr 7 Qtr 8

Additional information regarding job creation or retention that may be helpful to the loan committee:

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________

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V. APPLICATION CHECKLIST

The following items must be provided to staff at least one week prior to consideration by the public lender(s).

To be completed by Applicant:

 Application (with assistance by staff or others if needed). The application must be signed by the applicant(s) to be considered complete.

 Business plan (see guide provided by staff).

 Historical financial information for the past three years including cash flows, profit and loss statements, and balance sheets

 Projected financial information for the next three years including monthly cash flow for the first year, annual cash flow for the next two years, profit and loss statements, and balance sheets

 Personal financial statement, less than 90 days old, for each person with a 20% or greater share of ownership in the business

 Authorization form, one for each individual seeking financing from the public entity

 Current business financial statements, less than 30 days old

 List of current debts, both business and personal, indicating original loan amount, purpose, lender, term and interest rate, payment amount and frequency, status, and maturity date

 Letters from appropriate offices regarding liens and judgments on record against both the business and owners

 A letter from the applicant stating reasons the loan is needed; why the project could not be funded by private sources; stating that the business will operate in the proposed location for at least five years after the loan is made; stating that the business does not have any ongoing adverse action on record with OSHA, EPA, MPCA, NLRB, FSA or other State or Federal agencies; and stating that the project will result in no adverse environmental impacts.

If approved Applicant must provide:

 Proof that the public lender is listed as a loss payee on the item(s) financed for the duration of the loan, annual proof will be provided

 Proof that public lender is listed as beneficiary on life insurance policy for balance of loan To be completed by financial institution(s):

 Letter(s) stating amount of loan(s) for this project, and their terms and conditions

 Letter(s) of denial including reasons for denial To be completed by staff:

 Credit check

 Communicate with lender(s)

 Assist applicant complete application and supporting documentation To be signed by applicant:

I have willfully furnished this confidential information to the Swift County Rural Development Authority for the purpose of applying for a loan. I understand that this information will be reviewed by the Swift County RDA Staff and will be available for review by the SCRDA Loan Committee.

_____________________________________ ________________________

Signature Date