If these small businesses go belly-up, who gets stuck with the defaulted loans? I would guess the taxpayer especially if no collateral is required. If banks won't loan these small businesses any money, aren't the banks saying these aren't a good investment to begin with? I don't think it's a wise investment by the county especially when budgets are so tight to begin with.

Free money, sign me up. Sounds greasy and full of potential cronyism. Who authorizes these loans, who is going to monitor them and who's payroll are they on? What are the rules on who is eligible to get these loans? if those same individuals requesting the load cannot get a lender to lend to them how is this a safe bet for the County.

Sounds like throwing money out the door. Oh, I forgot, we have plenty of money, the fighting 59th just gave us a tax break because the coffers are full. We have plenty of reserves for repair roads and pay for Rothschild’s legal fund. What’s another $250,000 plus administrative expenses going to do to us that’s not being done already.

Watch where the money flows…..

I wonder if someone were to start a government accountability investigation buisness... it would qualify for such a lone....?

Shoemaker clearly understands the process of giving away taxpayer property and money....Ask him how much money the town received for old Hampstead School...
gave it away, valued at 1.8 million to the private corporation that currently profits from it. I have to wonder if he and Mayor Nevin, (the banker) aren't shareholders...??

Question for Patch... What ever happened with Shoemakers use of eminent domain land grab at the Oakmont Golf Course?? Haven't heard an update for quite a while.,
Was something settled behind closed doors??

If the county is so flush with cash, how about a real raise for county employees?

Nobody else will say it, but Frazier is correct on this one.

What happens to our prized AAA bond rating when these businesses go belly up and the county is left holding the bag?

There used to be a group of bankers who came together as the Carroll County Development Corporation (CCDC). Is it still around? I served on the board for several years and worked like this. Each of the banks kicked a certain amount of cash into a loan fund which the county oversaw. Administrative services for the group were also provided by the county. The group met once a month and reviewed small business loan applications. If the group agreed the loan should be granted, one of the banks stepped up to do so, but the loan was backed by the larger fund. It was a win-win. The business owner got a loan that likely would not have been approved by a single bank, the bank got the benefit of interest on the loan, the county looked good for supporting small business, and everyone was protected by the shared risk. So why is this Board reinventing the wheel and placing 100-percent of the risk on the taxpayers? If they think it's such a great idea, let them put up their own money! And I have to wonder just how much Howard's small business consulting firm is going to benefit by this. He absolutely should recuse himself in this debate due to clear-cut conflict of interest issues.

And it begins

Vote passed 3-2. The county is now in the loan shark business.

Did anyone watch or go to the commissioner meeting today where this was discussed? I will post a story tomorrow with the details of the meeting, but in the meantime wonder if anyone has thoughts on today's meeting.

I keep wondering how Doug Howard will personally benefit from this initiative. He runs a small-business start-up company. The more the county does for small businesses that are getting started, the more Doug Howard profits from his own business that offers services to those start-ups. Not sure why this isn't getting some scrutiny in the local press - smells a little fishy to me. Maybe Howard should recuse himself from county dealings that benefit the small business community that provide him income.

watchingfive you make a good point. I too would be interested in getting a response to your question(s). Could the Patch follow up on this?

A Patch blogger weighs in on the topic: http://patch.com/B-cd2H

Look, I find a lot of the actions the BOC takes are problematic, BUT... let's take a breath here. For AG Preservation under Mr. Robertson, I congratulate him and the BOC, as did the state.

I like attempts to be creative as long as the creativity doesn't turn into a scam. There is some risk, of course, of failure but just because Howard consults to help small business doesn't mean that he is setting up a framework to carry out some shady deals. Actually, we may learn from his business expertise. And, hey, the Bretheren Service Center helps micro startups all over the world and all kinds of good comes from that. Besides, growing businesses is healthier tax wise than a housing
development dumped onto ag land. Continued vigilance is the real key here. Let the ball be with the BOC. If their boldness pays dividends for our Carroll County, I will congratulate them. If there is some failure, I will congratulate them for their creative attempt. But watch out if there is anything crooked. This Democrat will then demand swift justice from the States Attorney.

I didn't hear the BOC would have any say in who gets the loans, nor do I believe that the currently rigged banking system is fair to those in need. This seems like a responsible use of money to fulfill economic development goals. I just wish the lenders could realize that if an owner is an "S" corp, it really doesnt matter where the business is located, as long as the owner is a Carroll resident. Carroll is not a top business destination,on, but with more investment in higher performing schools and a better infrastructure, we could be more attractive to wealthier families, which lowers the tax burden by virtue of higher property values. Simple economics.