Lee County business and community leaders recently attended a meeting led by Small Business Administration executives. It was the first report card, if you will, for local SBA management, on how the SBA has done and is doing with helping Lee County businesses get back on their feet, and to better address and manage the recovery process moving forward.
Dana Brunett, Lee County Economic Development Office, talked about the need for an extended application period. He noted that with only six months to submit an SBA business loan application after a Cat5 storm like Hurricane Ian is not enough time. He recommended the SBA consider a policy change because a lot of people lost records when they lost their home and their business.
Addressing the effectiveness of the current SBA business loan program. Brunett stated that nine months after the storm, the SBA business loan approval rates stand at around 18%. But he said there’s a lot more need. He urged the SBA to take a look at the policies and programs to get through the next hurricane better.
Rafaela Monchek, SBA Deputy Associate Administrator for Disaster Assistance, responded, “What I’m hearing loud and clear is that ‘We wish you were here earlier, we wish you had started this process 60-90 days after the event, somewhere much closer to the beginning so that those who are ready, are able to be supported.’ ”
Monchek described an SBA pilot outreach program to help businesses recover from disasters more quickly. Each businesses will complete an analysis to help them become more resilient through specialized trainings the SBA offers as well as access to the not-disaster programs the SBA offers.
Monchek said the SBA is adapting to better serve communities in the future.
“SBA Administrator Guzman has really gotten us to think differently about how we respond after an event, and thinking about that longer-term impact. So we’re excited to be implementing this new approach of being here for the longer term recovery, making sure we provide a much bigger service, through and beyond our disaster recovery services.”
Karen Moore is a contributing partner for WGCU and the publisher of SWFL Business Today.
