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AN ORDINANCE TO ESTABLISH A JONESBORO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT GRANT PROGRAM ESTABLISHING OBJECTIVES, ELIGIBILITY AND PROCEDURES FOR APPLICATIONS AND AWARDS, AN FOR OTHER PURPOSES
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BE IT ORDAINED by the City Council of the City of Jonesboro, Arkansas:
SECTION 1: There is hereby established the Jonesboro Economic Development Grant Program, to be administered by the Mayor or his designee, appointed by him with the advice and consent of the City Council.
SECTION 2: It shall be the purpose of this Program, established under the provisions of Act 405 of the General Assembly for the State of Arkansas for the year 1989, to award grants to certain non-profit corporations to be used by the grantee in aiding or assisting or otherwise promoting economic development throughout the City of Jonesboro and an area adjacent thereto. Economic development is any activity related to the encouragement of the location, relocation, creation, or development of a business, industry, manufacturing facility, transportation facility, or other economic unit which creates jobs, employs people, or generates economic activity.
SECTION 3: Funds available for this Program shall be such as may form time to time be appropriated by the City Council, and no awards shall be made unless funds are on hand to satisfy the award.
SECTION 4: Recipients eligible for grants shall include, but not be limited to, local industrial development corporations, local Chamber of Commerce, or other non-profit corporation having as its primary corporate function and activity the promotion and support of economic development within this city of any portion and support of economic development within this city or any portion thereof, under the definition of economic development in Section 2 above.
SECTION 5: The Administrator shall establish and provide application forms to be used by all applicants. Applicants shall be required to furnish information on the following, along with any other information required by the Administrator:
(1) Corporate, non-profit status of applicant.
(2) Evidence of purpose for which organized.
(3) Names, addressed and telephone numbers of its officers, and, if different, its Executive Committee members.
(4) Description of current activities of applicant.
(5) Description of economic development project for which an award is requested, including a budget or other economic outline of financing.
(6) Estimate of when funds will be needed; where grant can be paid in installments; estimate of time and amount of each.
(7) Description of projected final economic benefit when entire project, including the use of these grant funds, has been completed.
SECTION 6: Application shall be filed in triplicate with the Administrator. The Administrator shall have 30 days from the receipt of a satisfactorily completed application in which to approve or reject funding of a grant. No application shall be approved unless funds are available, unless the award is to be made in installments, in which case future installments shall always be conditioned upon appropriations by the City Council. If funds are not available, the application shall be denied, but may be carried over for the next available appropriation, and considered at that time, being given preference only as to order of consideration, based on time of filing. Awards may be made for all or any part of the amount requested, at the discretion of the Administrator.
SECTION 7: Grantees which have received funds from this Program during the preceding calendar year, shall file a report with the City Council and the Administrator, no later than January 30. This report shall explain the exact amount of expenditures of the grant funds, the purpose for which the grant was awarded and expended, and the economic development goals and objectives that were accomplished as a result of the expenditure.
SECTION 8: The Administrator shall establish a procedure for monitoring the ultimate expenditure of grant funds, to ensue that they are used in accord with the purposes for which they are awarded, and are expended in accord with all applicable state laws and local ordinances and procedures.
SECTION 9: It is hereby found and declared by the City Council of the City of Jonesboro that economic development efforts are currently underway that have the potential for greatly enhancing the economic life of this city, and that some of these programs are in need of funding and may qualify under the terms of this Grant Program. Therefore, in order to preserve and encourage this economic progress, for the betterment of all our citizens, and emergency is hereby declared to exist, and this ordinance being necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health and safety, shall be in full force and effect from and after its passage and approval.
PASSED AND ADOPTED this 7th day of August, 1989.