Views
Opinion column
by Murrel Bland
The Small Business Administration made about 50,000 loans during the Fiscal Year 2019. Compare that to 1.1 million loans forgiven by the Paycheck Protection Program as of January 2021.
Michael Barrera, the district director for the SBA, commented on these factors as he told how the SBA helped small businesses and nonprofit organizations during the coronavirus pandemic. He was the featured speaker at the monthly meeting of the Congressional Forum Friday, June 18, at the Vox Theater in the Rosedale community. The forum is a committee of the Kansas City, Kansas, Area Chamber of Commerce.
Barrera, who was appointed in February earlier this year, is responsible for an agency that has oversight of about $861 million of annual federal contracting and $338 million in annual lending guarantees. The SBA District includes 89 counties in eastern Kansas and western Missouri.
Barrera said it is important for those wishing to receive SBA loans to keep good financial records and to keep current on taxes.
Barrera said the qualified small businesses and nonprofit organizations who are experiencing a temporary loss of revenue can apply for Economic Injury Disaster Loans. The maximum amount of such EIDL loans is $500,000.
Barrera is a native of Kansas City, Missouri. He received a bachelor’s degree from Kansas State University at Manhattan and a law degree from the University of Texas at Austin. His father owned and operated a restaurant in Kansas City, Missouri.
The chamber announced its annual golf tournament will be Wednesday, July 14, at Dub’s Dread Golf Course with morning and afternoon flights. The chamber’s annual meeting will be at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 23, at Memorial Hall.
Murrel Bland is the former editor of The Wyandotte West and The Piper Press. He is executive director of Business West.