Berks County is accepting applications for Recovery Zone Facility Bonds

The County of Berks is accepting applications for Recovery Zone Facility Bonds allocation until October 9, 2009. The County has $8,440,000 of its allocation remaining.

Recovery Zone Facility Bonds (“RZFBs”) are a new type of exempt facility bonds created by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The proceeds of RZFBs can be used to finance the acquisition of new depreciable property located in a “recovery zone”. Certain types of property and projects do not qualify, such as residential rental real estate, golf courses, country clubs, etc.

A “recovery zone” is defined as an area having significant poverty, unemployment, or home foreclosures. Only expenditures paid after the County has designated a proposed location to be a recovery zone may be financed with RZFBs.

This program permits the issuance of tax exempt bonds in order to finance such permitted property; it is not a direct funding or grant program that commits public funds. Further, the County will not guaranty the debt service on such RZFBs.

Applications should include the contact information of the applicant, a description of the proposed project, a description of the proposed recovery zone, the estimated total costs of the project, the amount of allocation requested, a description of the proposed financing source, and a description of the economic benefits generated by such a project (i.e., jobs created, blight reduced, etc.)

Applications are to be submitted to:

Terry L. Styer, Chief Clerk
Berks County Commissioners
633 Court Street 13fl. SC
Reading, PA 19601

For further questions, please contact the Commissioners Office at (610) 478-6136.