The Bergen County Division of Community Development provides funding
for municipalities, businesses and families to address a myriad
of community, housing and economic development needs. The Division
is the sixth largest urban county recipient of Community Development
Block Grant funds in the nation. The Division also manages the
HOME Investment Partnership Act and Emergency Shelter Grant.
In an effort to create viable urban communities, the Division
extends its services through a series of programs. Business owners
can work with the Bergen County Business Resource Center and have
access to information that will aid them with their business endeavors.
They can also take part in the Bergen County Small Business Loan
Program, which provides low-interest loans in partnership with
bank lenders, technical assistance and job placement to business
owners.
Senior citizens in Bergen County can also count on services
provided by the Division of Community Development. Activity Centers
offer numerous programs to accommodate individuals with varying
interests, including group classes in painting, arts & crafts, knitting/crocheting,
woodworking, pool playing and exercise. There are educational
and cultural programs and social, health and legal counseling
available.
The municipal section of the Open Space, Recreation, Farmland & Historic
Preservation Trust Fund is also a program administered by the
Division. It provides funding for farmland and historic preservation,
and for acquiring and improving outdoor recreational facilities
for municipalities.
The Bergen County Division of Community Development has several
programs geared at homeowners. The Home Ownership Center promotes
affordable home ownership opportunities in Bergen County providing
access to information, banks and by coordinating counseling programs . The
Bergen County Home Improvement Program provides resources to
assist owners and occupants who make necessary repairs to their
homes. The program provides loans for eligible home improvements
at a rate of 3 percent. The American Dream Program is a public/private
partnership that provides mortgage financing at below market interest
rates. Its mission is to provide working families in Bergen County
an opportunity to attain the "American Dream" of owning
their home.
If you would like to learn more about the services and programs
that the Bergen County Division of Community Development offers,
contact Gary Kohles, Jr. at 201-336-7200 or email gkolhes@co.bergen.nj.us.
The mission of the Bergen County Improvement Authority (BCIA)
is to serve the needs of Bergen County by participating in community
and county projects, providing creative solutions to business issues,
and offering access to favorable financing for business ventures.
The BCIA also seeks to continually improve the quality of health
care services rendered to patients and residents by the private
manager of the Bergen Regional Medical Center, consistent with
the Authority's historic responsibility to maintain a safety net
for the health care needs of the citizens of Bergen County.
From its Hackensack offices, the BCIA is dedicated to assisting
schools and municipalities by offering pooled loans for government
borrowing. In doing so, local government entities can realize the
least possible cost for their funding needs. Participants have
used this program to finance capital improvements, as well as equipment
purchases including computers, police and fire vehicles, and energy-saving
electrical upgrades to local facilities.
The Authority also serves as a conduit funding source for eligible
redevelopers and non-profit organizations. In recent years, the
BCIA has financed both private school construction and senior housing
and is currently involved in a major park redevelopment project
for Bergen County, as well as the return to financial health of
the County's leading performing arts center in Englewood.
At Bergen Regional Medical Center, the BCIA, working with a Community
Oversight Board of health care professionals and patient advocates,
oversees the quality of care provided by the private manager in
the long-term care, behavioral health, and acute care units of
the hospital while, at the same time, implements several million
dollars annually of County funded improvements.
In the new millennium, the BCIA will continue to be a vigilant
advocate for quality health care, business development and community
improvements.
For more information, call 201-336-6350.
Strengthening the state's economic base and helping to renew communities
in support of Governor James E. McGreevey's smart growth vision
are key pursuits of the New Jersey Economic Development Authority
(EDA). Throughout Bergen County and around New Jersey, the EDA
has played an important role in stimulating business growth and
creating jobs for nearly 30 years, providing a variety of financing
options and below-market interest rates to suit the needs of most
borrowers.
The EDA's partnerships with banks, county economic development
groups and other organizations, enable the Authority to help close
financing gaps and provide low-cost capital in the form of loans,
loan guarantees and bond financing.
EDA bond financing is a particularly useful and affordable solution
for credit-worthy companies planning capital improvements and expansions
and generally needing $750,000 or more. Financings raised through
EDA bond issues offer lower interest rates and longer terms than
conventional bank loan,s and provide the borrower with flexibility
in choosing a variable or fixed interest rate.
The EDA is authorized to issue tax-exempt bonds under the federal
Internal Revenue Code to help a wide range of qualified borrowers
access money, including manufacturing businesses and nonprofit
groups. Bond purchasers, primarily banks, do not have to pay federal
or state income taxes on the interest earned, so this savings is
passed on to borrowers in the form of a lower interest rate.
Since the beginning of 2002, five different businesses or not-for-profit
entities in Bergen County have used EDA tax-exempt or taxable bond
financing to borrow more than $18.6 million for projects in Carlstadt,
Hackensack and Moonachie. These projects have helped the borrowers
purchase or renovate new facilities, obtain new equipment, acquire
the assets of a business and refinance higher-cost loans.
The Small Business Administration 504 Loan Program, which has
assisted one Emerson-based holding company in 2003, is another
valuable EDA financing tool used to help small businesses get
the money they need to locate and expand in New Jersey. SBA 504
loans, arranged by the Corporation for Business Assistance in
New Jersey, which the EDA staffs, can provide up to $1 million.
Under the program, a business provides 10 percent of the equity.
Another 50 percent is in the form of a bank loan, and the remainder
is provided through an SBA loan that is fully guaranteed by the
federal government. The monies may be used for investments in
buildings, equipment and other long-term depreciable assets.
For more information about either of these programs, call the EDA
at 609-292-1800 or visit www.njeda.com.
