Today is the deadline for business owners in fifteen Alabama counties to get drought relief from Washington.
The U.S. Small Business Administration is taking applications for loans of up to two million dollars at four percent interest. The money would go to business owners who can prove they lost income because of the extreme drought conditions last year.
SBA spokesman Jay McKenna says these loans aren’t for ranchers or farmers, who can get help from other federal agencies.
“We would help those businesses that were impacted, such as the farm implement dealer, the furniture retailer, and stores of that sort that may have been affected because the farmer or rancher was not able to make the purchases they normally would in that community.”
McKenna says the SBA money can be used for things like accounts payable or payroll while a business gets back on its feet. The Alabama counties in which business owners can apply for an SBA drought disaster loan are Autauga, Bibb, Chilton, Coosa, Dallas, Elmore, Fayette, Greene, Hale, Jefferson, Perry, Pickens, Shelby, Tuscaloosa and Walker.
