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Economic development staff report SBDC caseload, EIN delay affecting client funding
Summary
Business development staff said the Small Business Development Center is serving 39 clients, and several clients are delayed in receiving EINs, holding up funding and bank processes; an entertainment client is ready to present to lenders for startup costs.
Grant Linenberger, Business Development, updated the board on several small-business and SBDC client matters and reported an ongoing issue with delayed Employer Identification Number (EIN) issuance that is preventing awarded funding from moving to beneficiaries.
Grant said his current SBDC caseload is 39 active clients. He described one restaurant client who lost an investor and found a new potential partner; staff are updating the business plan to pursue bank financing. He also said Client 02241 (identifier used in the meeting) remains unable to receive awarded funding because an EIN has not been issued; staff said the matter was being pursued through the senator's office and that duplicate-name issues in the federal system may be the cause.
On workforce and youth outreach, Grant said the Youth Entrepreneur Challenge (YEC) is scheduled for Wednesday, March 12 and asked board members to help recruit judges. He also reported the entertainment/family-entertainment client discussed earlier is prepared to present to a bank for start-up financing after staff helped with location and business-plan materials.
A board member asked whether food trucks collect sales tax; staff explained food-truck operators typically list prices with tax included and confirmed they collect sales tax but use round pricing to avoid carrying change.
Why it matters: delays in EIN issuance can directly prevent small businesses from accessing awarded funds or executing bank transactions; SBDC assistance and staff follow-up are critical to moving clients from planning to funded operations.
What remains open: the federal EIN issuance delay is unresolved in the meeting record and was being handled through federal offices; no specific timeline for resolution was provided.
