Code of Vermont Rules › Agency 13 - AGENCY OF HUMAN SERVICES › Sub-Agency 120 - ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY OFFICE › Chapter 002 - VERMONT JOB START LOAN PROCEDURES › Section 13 120 002 - VERMONT JOB START LOAN PROCEDURES

Current through June, 2024
Amended VERMONT JOB START LOAN PROCEDURES
The Vermont Job Start Program is administered by the State
				  Economic Opportunity Office (SEOO) in the Agency of Human Services, Waterbury,
				  Vermont. Loan applications are available at the SEOO.
Address: State Economic Opportunity Office
103 South Main Street
Waterbury, Vermont 05676
Telephone: (802) 241-2450
Applications will be mailed on request.
Job Start loans are available to start, strengthen, or expand
				  a small business. The maximum amount available is $ 10,000 for any single
				  business proposal. Any individual's participation in Job Start funding shall
				  not exceed $ 10,000 in that individual's lifetime.
Section I
To be eligible for a Job Start program loan, an applicant
				  must:
1. Be a Vermont
				resident:
2. Be eighteen (18) years
				or older;
3. Have a gross annual
				household income of no more than seventy percent of the statewide median income
				for households of that size, as determined by the U.S. Department of Housing
				and Urban Development (HUD). The income eligibility guidelines shall be
				adjusted annually by SEOO on the first business day of the state fiscal year,
				using the most recent median income figures published by HUD.
a. Annual income is defined as gross income
				for the previous 12 months.
1) In the case of
				a partnership applying for Job Start funding, the gross annual household income
				of each partner must not exceed the income guideline in effect for that date,
				depending on size of household as above,
2) In the case of a cooperative or
				corporation applying for a Job Start loan, the gross annual household income of
				each shareholder must not exceed the income guideline in effect for that date,
				depending on size of houshold as above,
b. "Household" is defined as an individual
				living as an economically independent unit, or any group of individuals who are
				living together as an economically interdependent unit;
4. Have insufficient access to conventional
				sources of credit,
a. Insufficient access
				means - a lending institution in the applicant's area must have refused to
				approve a loan for the proposal submitted to Vermont Job Start, or
b. In the instance that the local lending
				institution approved the loan, the approval was made under conditions that
				would seriously jeopardize the proposal's success or the applicant's financial
				stability;
5. Have
				inadequate financial resources to undertake the proposal.
6. Notwithstanding the income guidelines set
				forth above, the SEOO director may, on a case-by-case basis, approve loans for
				applicants whose income exceeds the guidelines by no more than thirty percent,
				provided that the applicant is an eligible participant in the Job Start
				technical assistance program operated by a community action agency and funded
				by SEOO. All other eligibility requirements in this section must still be met
				in such cases.