Michael Sage, economic development manager of the Northwest New Mexico Council of Governments, recently announced that a $900,000 grant was received from the U.S. Economic Development Administration to establish a revolving loan fund.
The council provides assistance to small businesses operating in San Juan, McKinley and Cibola counties.
Sage, whose agency serves the cities of Aztec, Bloomfield, Farmington, Gallup, Grants, and the Village of Milan and the counties of Cibola, McKinley and San Juan, stated in an email that their goal is to provide community and economic development services to local governments in northwest New Mexico.
With the $900,000 in capitalization, the revolving loan fund is able to make loans in amounts of $20,000 $100,000, Sage said in a news release. A regional 12-member revolving loan fund committee, with five members from San Juan County, has been established to review and approve loans.
The Council of Governments’ website lists four areas of focus, including economic development, transportation planning, environmental planning and local government services.
“The RLF is intended to help small businesses in northwest New Mexico grow, ultimately leading to more jobs for the region,” Sage said.
The Council of Governments is getting the word out to let the San Juan County business community know this new resource is available to them, according to Sage.
“Recently, the NWNMCOG Board of Directors took action to lower the interest rate on the fund to Wall Street Journal Prime, now currently 7.5%,” he said.
The fund does not operate in southern Colorado or do construction loans. Businesses must be in operation for at least two years to participate.
According to the Council of Governments brochure, COG has a duel designation as a quasi-governmental and regional planning agency for the State of New Mexico through the Local Government Division. Additionally, the U.S. Economic Development Administration has designated various COGs as planning and development and economic development districts.
“COG assists with local and regional planning and development initiatives in Northwest New Mexico and works on behalf of its member governments and their customized annual work plans to uplift the region through coordination,” the news release said.
