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Disaster Loans Aimed At Helping Communities Pay Operating Costs

With clean-up and repair efforts well under way in Texas following the Hurricane Ike disaster, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is kicking off a loan program aimed at helping local governments provide essential services while they recover from the storm.

The city of Galveston and the Galveston Park Board are expected to be among the first to receive low-interest loans under FEMA’s Community Disaster Loan program for Hurricane Ike.

Carried out in partnership with the state of Texas, the program provides operational funding to help local governments that have suffered a significant loss in revenue as a result of the disaster.

Galveston’s application for a $5 million loan, the maximum allowed under the program, and the Galveston Park Board’s $4.6 million loan request are now moving through the approval process.

The Sabine Pass Port Authority and the Chambers-Liberty Counties Navigation District have each submitted their eligibility certificates for the program.

To qualify for the program, local governments must, among other things, demonstrate that they suffered a substantial loss (greater than 5 percent) of tax and other revenues for the current or succeeding year as a result of the major disaster.

The disaster must also have adversely affected the level of essential municipal services provided.

The funds must be used to carry on existing operations or to expand the local government’s essential functions to meet disaster-related needs.

The term of the loan is five years, although it can be extended to 10 years, and the applicants select their payment schedule. Additionally, there is a provision for loan cancellation in worst-case scenarios.

To initiate the application process, local governments should complete the form “Certification of Eligibility for Community Disaster Loan” form and submit it to the state’s representative at lucy.gunter@txdps.state.tx.us. Those wanting more information from FEMA should contact Shoshana Resnick at shoshana.resnick@dhs.gov.

 

Last Modified: Wednesday, 11-Aug-2010 14:46:28 EDT