State Director for Rural Development Joyce White today announced $168,500 in community facilities investments that will provide essential services for rural communities in Tennille, Blue Ridge and La Fayette, Georgia.
USDA is making the investments through the Community Facilities Direct Loan Program. The funding helps rural areas purchase, construct or improve essential facilities. An essential community facility is one that provides a necessary service for the orderly development or operation of a rural community, such as schools, libraries, health care facilities, public safety and infrastructure improvements. The Department announcement includes $17.4 million in 41 projects in 22 states. The projects announced today in Georgia are listed here:
- The City of Tennille, Ga will use an $18,000 loan and $25,000 grant to purchase a police interceptor unit for its Police Department.
- The City of Blue Ridge, Ga will use a $40,500 loan and $25,000 grant to purchase a backhoe to be used for various purposes by the Public Works Department.
- The City of La Fayette, Ga. Will use a $35,000 loan and $25,000 grantto purchase a first-responder fire truck to reduce emergency response time.
More than 100 types of projects are eligible for USDA Community Facilities funding. Eligible applicants include municipalities, public bodies, nonprofit organizations and federally and state-recognized Native American tribes. Applicants and projects must be in rural areas with a population of 20,000 or less. Loan amounts have ranged from $10,000 to $165 million.
The Fiscal Year (FY) 2018 Omnibus spending bill increased the budget for the Community Facilities Direct Loan and Grant program to $2.8 billion, up $200 million from FY 2017.
In April 2017, President Donald J. Trump established the Interagency Task Force on Agriculture and Rural Prosperity to identify legislative, regulatory and policy changes that could promote agriculture and prosperity in rural communities. In January 2018, Secretary Perdue presented the Task Force’s findings to President Trump. These findings included 31 recommendations to align the federal government with state, local and tribal governments to take advantage of opportunities that exist in rural America. Increasing investments in rural infrastructure is a key recommendation of the task force.
To view the report in its entirety, please view the Report to the President of the United States from the Task Force on Agriculture and Rural Prosperity (PDF, 5.4 MB). In addition, to view the categories of the recommendations, please view the Rural Prosperity infographic (PDF, 190 KB).
USDA Rural Development provides loans and grants to help expand economic opportunities and create jobs in rural areas. This assistance supports infrastructure improvements; business development; housing; community services such as schools, public safety and health care; and high-speed internet access in rural areas. For more information, visit www.rd.usda.gov.