Elgin human services loan program draws only one applicant
After only one nonprofit applied for Elgin's new emergency loan program, the city will have to decide what to do with the money set aside.
Applications were due Friday for the program available to human services agencies whose ability to operate is in jeopardy due to the lack of payments in the absence of a state budget.
The Association for Individual Development applied for a $200,000 loan - out of $625,000 available - to provide respite, psychiatric and other services for Elgin residents. The state owes the agency $1.2 million, AID President/CEO Lynn O'Shea said.
"We use our line of credit to continue operating while we wait for the state to approve the funds," she said, "so this program will allow us to have an interest-free loan instead of paying interest on a line of credit."
Mayor David Kaptain said the city council will discuss the loan program at its Jan. 27 meeting. Options include soliciting a second round of applications, changing the terms of the loan - such as not requiring a state contract - or putting the money back in reserves.
Agencies that didn't apply for loans cited different reasons.
Renz Addiction Counseling Center is making do financially, marketing/development director Deb Howe said.
"It's not an emergency yet," she said. "We'll just kind of wait to see what's going to happen with the state."
Ecker Center for Mental Health needs the money, but isn't sure it could repay a loan because the state money might never come through, executive director Karen Beyer said. The center might have to close a home for mentally ill women after March if it doesn't get $30,000 relatively soon, she said.
"Given the fact that lots of people are saying there probably won't be a budget this year, we are beginning to think we'll never get paid on those contracts," Beyer said. "It would be really not in our best interest, and certainly not something we'd want to do to the city of Elgin, to take out a loan we could not pay back. It's a very sad situation."
Centro de Informacion didn't apply for a loan because it doesn't have a contract with the state, said its assistant director Cheryl Wilkins. Centro gets $115,000 yearly in state money through grants from the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights to fund citizenship, family resource and food programs, Wilkins said. Centro has cut those programs due to the lack of state payments, she said.
A committee will review AID's application and meet with agency representatives later this week, Elgin senior management analyst Laura Valdez-Wilson said. The city is in contact with the state comptroller's office to see if the money owed to AID can be released soon, she added.
The city hosted a human services summit in October that underlined the need to rethink funding models for human services agencies while increasing efficiencies and collaboration. A second summit is expected in March.