County approves $588,000 bond‑fee package to launch small‑business revolving loan fund and training partnership

Palm Beach County commissioners voted unanimously to direct $588,000 in industrial‑bond approval fees toward three initiatives aimed at small and micro businesses: a revolving loan pool, a training and technical assistance program with Grow America (formerly National Development Council), and marketing/outreach.

The board-approved proposal allocates the funding as presented by county staff: $400,000 toward a small‑business revolving loan program, $140,000 for a Grow America training and technical assistance contract, and $48,000 for outreach and marketing. Staff described the loan program as targeting micro‑enterprises (typically five or fewer employees) with flexible, collateralized loans, and said the loans would be structured for repayment to keep the pool revolving.

Context: The fee revenue was generated when the county approved tax‑exempt industrial development revenue bonds earlier this year; the county receives a fee when it signs off on such bond issuances. Staff proposed using those one‑time fees to seed a program meant to boost small business access to capital and readiness for lending.

Key program details discussed at the meeting - Loan capital: Staff proposed a $400,000 revolving loan fund, originally described as making a minimum of 40 loans up to $10,000 each; several commissioners asked staff to raise the per‑loan maximum to $20,000 to match equipment and startup needs. Staff advised the board they can adjust the per‑loan maximum and that the “40 loans” figure would change if the cap is raised. - Terms and collateral: Staff proposed five‑year terms, with interest at 3% for for‑profit businesses and 2% for nonprofit enterprises. Staff said loans would be collateralized and county attorneys would prepare a reusable template to limit per‑loan legal review time. - Training and readiness: The board approved $140,000 to contract with Grow America for a six‑week (two hours/week typical) program of training, one‑on‑one technical assistance, and capital‑readiness work. Grow America staff told the board its historic course completion rate exceeds 80% and that the training is paired with lending options through Grow America as well as county programs. - Participant buy‑in: Commissioners asked staff to return with a recommended modest participant fee (discussion ranged $100–$500) or sliding scale tied to financials; a refundable fee for completion was discussed but staff recommended the fee be considered an investment rather than a forgiveness item. - Revolving structure: Staff and board said the intention is to revolve repaid principal and interest back into the fund. Commissioners asked for annual reporting on repayments and suggested staff consider deploying repaid dollars on an annual cadence rather than waiting multiple years.

Board action and next steps Vice Mayor Baxter moved approval; a second was given and the motion passed 6‑0. The board instructed staff to: - proceed with the $588,000 allocation as described, - return with an implementation plan that includes loan underwriting templates, county attorney review estimates, participant fee recommendations (sliding scale), and an annual reporting schedule, - consider raising the per‑loan cap to $20,000 and adjusting the estimated number of loans accordingly.

Ending: The program is intended to help small, mostly micro‑businesses get capital and technical support to grow; staff will return with implementation details and a schedule for monitoring the revolving fund.