Texas Leverage Fund: $14.3 Million Available for Loans in the Heart of Texas

In a previous post, we noted that the Texas Leverage Fund makes loans to 4A- or 4B-taxing Economic Development Corporations. These loans basically advance the EDC its future sales tax revenues, and can be spent just as their sales tax revenues can be spent.

The Heart of Texas Region cities have a combined $14.3 million in loan availability, and interest rates are currently just over 3%.

Individual cities vary in their lending limits. Cities with over $1 million available are Mexia, Bellmead, Fairfield, and Hillsboro. Cities with between $500,000 and $1 million are McGregor, Clifton, and Groesbeck. Cities with between $100,000 and $500,000 are Hubbard, Itasca, Meridian, Rosebud, and Wortham. Cities with between $50,000 and $100,000 are Lott and Crawford.

For more information on how to access this fund, email Megan or Kathy or visit the Texas Economic Development Bank, part of the Governor's Office of Economic Development and Tourism.

Economic Development Financing Tool: Texas Leverage Fund

Staff is excited to learn about an economic development financing tool that 4A and 4B corporations can use. It's basically a loan from the State to do a project, and any project that would be eligible for your regular 4A or 4B sales tax would be eligible for this funding.

Two things are great about this money: first, it has a very low interest rate (about 3.25% as of this writing,) and second, it is securitized by your future revenue - so you don't have to pledge assets to secure the loan. This is good if you don't have any assets, but it's good even if you do: not having to tie up your assets means they're free to use for future projects.

Look for future posts, when we'll share more information about communities' borrowing abilities under this program, and Happy Independence Day!

New Planner Starts Monday

Please help us welcome Kathy Kieran, the new Community and Economic Development Planner, who will begin work Monday, May 17. Not only does Kathy bring considerable skill and talent to the position, but the position itself is expanding to full-time to take on the exciting challenges laid out at the Economic Development District Board Retreat in March.

While Kathy will spend quite a bit of her early time on the job learning about the region and its communities, she will also jump into current projects, including:
--evaluation of potential data sources for use in lead-response, grantsmanship, and other projects;
--application for funding to seed a Revolving Loan Fund;
--developing an inventory of resources for the region's small businesses; and
--maintaining and expanding the Economic Development Inventory of the region.

Kathy's background, which includes extensive communications, research, and workforce development work in addition to business operations, ensures that she will hit the ground running.

Best Wishes, Dedri!

Dedri Hafer's last day is tomorrow, as she's taken a job with the Hill County Sheriff's Office. She has done a wonderful job for HOTEDD, and we will miss her!

Successful Forum Held in Marlin

The Economic Development Forum hosted by the Marlin, Rosebud, and Lott Chambers of Commerce on April 20 was a pleasure to attend. The venue, the historic Allen House, was a beautiful reminder of the rich history of the Heart of Texas Region. Denny Lessman and others from Marlin and Falls County shared reasons past and present for their pride in their communities.
Bobby Gierisch of Texas Rural Innovators facilitated a discussion among the communities represented, in which each highlighted areas of current community and economic development activity. Golinda, for example, has contracted with a private company to clean up all the city's streets. Fairfield recently added over 100 acres to its industrial park. Community events in Rosebud and Mexia bring visitors and overnight guests to those communities, and Marlin has begin a revitalization effort combining outside expertise with local know-how and commitment to the community.
After the forum and excellent luncheon catered by John and Cynthia Dees, the golfers of the group adjourned to the Marlin Country Club for a round of nine.
Thanks so much to those who hosted and attended this successful event!

We Remember Sharon Barnes

When I first met Sharon Barnes, we were working together as advocates for our region in creating the Texas Brazos Trail Region. Her knowledge, energy, and commitment to Groesbeck and to economic development were inspiring to me.
Over the following ten years, my admiration for Sharon grew: she continued to work, to advocate, to think creatively and to work for her community. And she continued to fight cancer, holding it at bay while she lived an extraordinary life.
Sharon passed away just before Easter. Her fight is over, but I and HOTEDD remember her and honor her legacy.

We're All A-Twitter!

This marks the first day of HOTEDD's online presence, and we look forward to hearing from the region. In addition to the blog space, users of Facebook can become fans of Heart of Texas Economic Development District, and users of Twitter can follow us by our username, HOTEcDevDist.

We plan to use this blog to communicate news and information, to post resources such as economic development tools and strategies, and to discuss ongoing projects and initiatives.

In the coming months, viewers can expect to see posts on the evaluation of different online data tools, resources for responding to leads, and business retention and expansion strategies.

I hope you find the blog helpful! Please let us know how to make it valuable to you.

-Megan Henderson