Current through February, 2024
Amended VERMONT JOB START LOAN PROCEDURES
The Vermont Job Start Program is administered by the State
Economic Opportunity Office (SEOO) in the Agency of Human Services, Waterbury,
Vermont. Loan applications are available at the SEOO.
Address: State Economic Opportunity Office
103 South Main Street
Waterbury, Vermont 05676
Telephone: (802) 241-2450
Applications will be mailed on request.
Job Start loans are available to start, strengthen, or expand
a small business. The maximum amount available is $ 10,000 for any single
business proposal. Any individual's participation in Job Start funding shall
not exceed $ 10,000 in that individual's lifetime.
Section I
To be eligible for a Job Start program loan, an applicant
must:
1. Be a Vermont
resident:
2. Be eighteen (18) years
or older;
3. Have a gross annual
household income of no more than seventy percent of the statewide median income
for households of that size, as determined by the U.S. Department of Housing
and Urban Development (HUD). The income eligibility guidelines shall be
adjusted annually by SEOO on the first business day of the state fiscal year,
using the most recent median income figures published by HUD.
a. Annual income is defined as gross income
for the previous 12 months.
1) In the case of
a partnership applying for Job Start funding, the gross annual household income
of each partner must not exceed the income guideline in effect for that date,
depending on size of household as above,
2) In the case of a cooperative or
corporation applying for a Job Start loan, the gross annual household income of
each shareholder must not exceed the income guideline in effect for that date,
depending on size of houshold as above,
b. "Household" is defined as an individual
living as an economically independent unit, or any group of individuals who are
living together as an economically interdependent unit;
4. Have insufficient access to conventional
sources of credit,
a. Insufficient access
means - a lending institution in the applicant's area must have refused to
approve a loan for the proposal submitted to Vermont Job Start, or
b. In the instance that the local lending
institution approved the loan, the approval was made under conditions that
would seriously jeopardize the proposal's success or the applicant's financial
stability;
5. Have
inadequate financial resources to undertake the proposal.
6. Notwithstanding the income guidelines set
forth above, the SEOO director may, on a case-by-case basis, approve loans for
applicants whose income exceeds the guidelines by no more than thirty percent,
provided that the applicant is an eligible participant in the Job Start
technical assistance program operated by a community action agency and funded
by SEOO. All other eligibility requirements in this section must still be met
in such cases.
Section
II
The director of the State Economic Opportunity Office shall
set the interest rate for Job Start loans as follows:
1. The interest rate may be adjusted within
five business days of the first business day of each state fiscal
quarter.
2. The interest rate shall
not exceed a rate determined by adding the Federal prime rate in effect at the
beginning of the first day of each fiscal quarter plus 2 1/2 percent
points.
3. Any existing loan will
not be affected by a future quarterly interest adjustment.
4. Job Start loans shall be at a fixed rate
for the term of the loan.
5. Any
loans made to existing borrowers for purposes of expansion or refinancing will
be recomputed at the prevailing rate.
Section III
All applications are reviewed by the Vermont Job Start
Program Specialist for the following criteria:
1. Does the applicant qualify under the
eligibility requirements set forth above;
2. Is the business proposal feasible;
a. General reasonableness
b. Sufficient capital
c. Adequate market analysis
3. Creditworthiness of
applicant;
4. Strength of the
collateral offered to secure the loan.
Section IV
Applicants deemed ineligible because they fail to meet the
criteria set forth in Section
III above are notified
immediately by letter that they are ineligible for a Job Start loan. If the
Vermont Job Start Program Specialist finds the application meets the criteria
in Section I, then a determination is made whether or not an application has
sufficient merit under the criteria set forth in Section III, items 2-4 for
additional processing. If it is determined that the proposal does not have
sufficient merit, the applicant shall be notified by letter stating the reasons
for denial. If the Program Specialist determines that an application has
sufficient merit, the process shall be as follows:
1. The Job Start Program Specialist may
contact the applicant for additional information about the business proposal,
and prepare a loan proposal packet which is sent to one of the five Regional
Advisory Boards:
Central Vermont Region
Lamoille County
Orange County
Washington County
Champlain Valley
Addison County
Chittenden County
Franklin County
Grand Isle County
Northeast Region
Orleans County
Caledonia County
Essex County
Southeast Region
Windsor County
Windham County
Southwest Region
Rutland County
Bennington County
2. The Job Start Program Specialist sets a
meeting date for the Vermont Job Start Regional Advisory Board in the region
wherein the applicant proposes to do business;
3. The applicant is notified of the meeting
date and is asked to attend to present their proposal;
4. The Regional Advisory Board either
approves or rejects the loan by a majority vote (in some instances, special
conditions for receipt of a loan may be set by the board) and transmits the
loan to the Director of SEOO for final approval or denial in accordance with
guidelines set forth in these procedures;
5. If the loan is approved, the applicant is
so notified and a date for closing is established by the State Economic
Opportunity Office;
6. If the loan
is denied, the applicant receives a letter stating the reasons for
denial.
Section V
If an applicant wants to appeal the denial of their loan,
they shall use the following procedure:
1. A written request for a hearing before the
Human Services Board should be mailed to either the SEOO or the Human Services
Board:
c/o Agency of Human Services
103 South Main Street
Waterbury, Vermont 05676
2. This request must be submitted within 30
days of the applicant's notification of denial;
3. The Human Services Board will schedule a
hearing and notify the applicant of the date, place and time;
4. The applicant may be represented by
counsel and call witnesses or represent themself.
Section VI Billing Procedures
1. The Job Start Program bills loan
recipients on a periodic basis according to the terms of their promissory
notes.
a. A payment is considered past due
ten (10) days after the date on which it was due in the State Economic
Opportunity Office;
b. A
delinquency charge of 5% of the past due payment is assessed when all or any
part of payment is more than ten (10) days past due.
