Absolutely. Award information will be posted on the County’s website and regular reports will be made available. Information such as the applicant’s personal and very sensitive financial data will be kept confidential.
In addition, awards will be subject to audits, compliance review, and numerous other levels of oversight to assure accountability.
The County Executive and County Council have set aside $50 million as a multi-year commitment for the EDI Fund.
Approximately $7 million to $11 million will be available each fiscal year. This will ensure that the Council has an opportunity to review the status of the program before additional funds can be spent.
All awardees will be expected to provide appropriate collateral or other security to Prince George’s County to protect the public investment.
Audits of businesses receiving aid will ensure that we have the necessary information to make changes to the terms of an agreement or to penalize a non performing recipient.
Prince George’s County has adopted formal policies for this program. This will include: an application form, a fee structure for applications, additional financial and other information that may be requested from applicants. A step-by-step process for accepting and processing all applications fairly and efficiently is available on this website.
The priorities for funding are projects that grow the County’s commercial tax base, add County jobs, and meet other specified goals. Any business or development project that meets those priorities can apply for funds from the program. Non-profits are eligible for funding of projects that result in growth in the County’s commercial tax base and in new jobs, but not for funding operations.
Most of the awards will be made as loans to small and medium sized businesses located in the County. On occasion, in particular and extraordinary circumstances involving large numbers of jobs, grants may be considered.