Jacksonville's JSEB special committee recommended a $500,000 injection into the JSEB Access to Capital Program Trust Fund and narrower loan terms at its April 17 meeting. The committee approved a voice vote urging the administration to keep the program tiered, limit maximum loans to $100,000, set interest between 4% and 5%, and reduce maximum terms from 60 months to 36 months.

The recommendation grew from a briefing by JSEB administrator Gregory Grant, who said increasing access to capital “is critical for promoting job creation [and] economic stability” and described a prior $1,000,000 pool that was fully deployed within months. Grant told the committee the original million-dollar fund drew overwhelming demand when it was advertised, and that 13 loans have been issued so far, with one fully repaid and most borrowers current until recent payment delays.

The committee's action was procedural: members framed the $500,000 as a strong recommendation to the administration rather than an ordinance to be enacted immediately. Councilmember Rahman Johnson moved the original larger funding motion earlier in the meeting and later withdrew it; the motion that advanced the $500,000 recommendation was seconded by Councilmember Ken Amaro and passed by voice vote.

Members debated the size and structure of loans. Grant and others argued that larger ‘‘tier 3’’ JSEB companies—firms with seven-figure revenues that struggle to scale because they lack capital—require larger loans (in the hundreds of thousands) to expand and compete for bigger contracts. Several council members, including Amaro and others, urged more conservative repayment terms so the pool replenishes faster, suggesting shorter terms and possible modest rate increases to 5% to protect taxpayer dollars.

Administration staff signaled fiscal constraints. Britney Norris (Administration) told the committee that the mayor’s office could not guarantee a $4,000,000 appropriation to reach a $5,000,000 target during the current budget process and recommended exploring smaller tranches or reserve funding. Ed Randolph (Office of Economic Development) also cautioned that historically small-business loan programs have mixed repayment performance and emphasized the budgetary challenge of finding new funding.

Committee members and witnesses discussed structuring the $500,000 to serve microenterprises (for example, $10,000–$15,000 microloans) while preserving the existing longer-term fund for larger loans. Grant said the existing portfolio had about $887,000 outstanding and estimated most repayments would return within two years, though some 60-month loans extend to five years. Members asked staff to pursue procedures (including vetting and potential collateral requirements for larger loans) to reduce program risk.

Why it matters: The recommendation aims to expand short-term, lower-dollar lending to more small businesses quickly while balancing fiscal stewardship. Committee members characterized the step as a way to broaden participation among tier-one and tier-two JSEBs and to pilot microloans before seeking larger appropriations in a future budget.

The committee recorded the action as a voice vote; no roll-call tally was provided. The committee instructed staff to work with the administration to implement the recommended terms and report back through the JSEB monitoring processes and at the next special committee meeting.