Group urges vote on job-creating ballot measure
A coalition of Maine businesses is urging voters to approve ballot question No. 3 on Nov. 4, saying it will continue funding two state loan programs that have created thousands of jobs.
The Mainers for Small Business group on Tuesday said that a coalition of more than 25 businesses, municipalities and economic development organizations support the statewide ballot measure.
The group's supporters include Wiscasset-based CEI (Coastal Enterprises Inc.), the Maine Chamber of Commerce, the Maine Innkeepers Association, the city of Presque Isle and Yellow Light Breen, chief strategic officer of Bangor Savings Bank.
If approved, the state would borrow $4 million to go into the state’s Commercial Loan Insurance program and $8 million to go into its Regional Economic Development Revolving Loan Program, which are both handled by the Finance Authority of Maine, the Bangor Daily News reported.
The loan insurance investment would spur an estimated $68 million in extra lending, resulting in the creation and retention of approximately 1,548 jobs, according to FAME. The additional revolving loan funds will be distributed to regional economic development organizations, which then would provide “gap financing” to help businesses that have between 10 and 50 employees.
The bond has been estimated to cost the state a total of about $15 million, if it was paid back in 10 years with a 4.5% interest rate.
Mainers for Small Business said 772 revolving loans amounting to $16.2 million have been disbursed since the program was created by the state Legislature in 1993, resulting in the creation and retention of 10,500 jobs. The coalition said the loan program gives small business owners access to flexible capital that can lead to revitalizing downtowns and improving the rural economy across the state.
Among the businesses supporting the ballot measure, the business coalition said the revolving loan program has allowed manufacturers like Westbrook-based Artel Inc. and Wiscasset-based Molnycke Health Care to grow into global leaders.
"Small businesses sustain Maine's rural economy, providing jobs for our friends and neighbors," Bob Clark, executive director of the Northern Maine Development Commission, said in a prepared statement. "One of the barriers for small business ownership and growth in our state has been a lack of access to flexible capital, the kind of capital that works closely with conventional bank funds in filling gaps and helping a business start or expand."
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