Morris County eligible for emergency disaster loans

Some Morris County residents will be eligible to apply for low-interest emergency disaster loans, according to information from the Texas Department of Public Safety.

According to information obtained from County Judge Lynda Munkres, from the United States Secretary of Agriculture, the county has been designated eligible due to drought conditions.

Information given to Judge Munkres states that emergency loans are available immediately to eligible applicants.

The information explains small, nonfarm businesses can apply for “low-interest federal disaster loans from the United States Small Business Administration to offset economic losses because of reduced revenues caused by the drought in the following primary counties that began Nov. 15.” Primary counties include Bowie, Cass, Morris, Red River, and Titus. Neighboring counties may also be eligible for the loans, as well. Those eligible neighboring counties include Camp, Delta, Franklin, Lamar, Marion, and Upshur.

“Eligibility for these loans is based on the financial impact of the disaster only, and not on any actual property damage. These loans have an interest rate of 3.125 percent for businesses and 2.5 percent for private, nonprofit organizations, a maximum term of 30 years, and are available to small businesses and most private nonprofits without the financial ability to offset the adverse impact without hardship,” said Tanya Garfield, Director of the SBA’s Disaster Field Operations Center-West.

Businesses primarily engaged in farming or ranching are not eligible for the SBA Disaster Assistance. Those should contact the Farm Services Agency about United States Department of Agriculture assistance made available by the disaster declaration.

Disaster loan information and application forms are available from the SBA’s Customer Service Center by calling (800)659-2955 or emailing disastercustome r s e r v i c e @ s b a . g o v . Applicants may also apply online by using the SBA’s secure website, https://disasterloans. sba.gov/ela. The deadline to apply for these loans is July 24, 2017.