Lane County’s economic development department shuts down its grant program because there isn’t enough money to give out.
The recession’s effects on Lane County’s lottery-funded business grant program have forced the fund to close.
Because of the dip in lottery activity, the amount of money the county has flowing into its fund isn’t worth the time for either the county or for businesses, economic development coordinator Mike McKenzie-Bahr said.
The department skipped its customary December date to seek requests for the money, following a unanimous decision by the economic development standing committee that the priority should be preserving the long-term health of the fund. The department will revisit the issue in March.
“It was not a decision that they wanted to do. It was the prudent one to do,” McKenzie-Bahr said. “If we spend it now and I didn’t have money in the future, that’s sort of pointless.”
Read the full story at The Register-Guard.
{biztweet}Lane County business grant program{/biztweet}
