Loan fund’s impact detailed for Supervisors – The Vacaville Reporter
The Reporter
By Nick McConnell | nmcconnell@thereporter.com
PUBLISHED: November 18, 2025 at 3:27 PM PST
Solano County supervisors on Tuesday listened to a detailed account of how the county’s Revolving Loan Fund has fueled post-pandemic economic recovery, including the deployment millions of dollars in American Rescue Plan Act dollars and the early successes of the businesses it has supported. The update highlighted how the loan program (designed to create lasting, transformational opportunities beyond the COVID-19 crisis) has already begun recycling capital back into the community.
The Solano Economic Development Corporation presented the update with Megan Richards, principal management analyst with the Solano County Administrator’s Office, explaining that the board chose to make ARPA allocations that would have a legacy following the pandemic and create once-in-a-lifetime opportunities for economic redevelopment.
The program began almost four years ago, loaning out $3.6 million in ARPA funding. The loans were made through First Northern Bank, Travis Credit Union and Valley Strong Credit Union, which underwrite and service the loans. Every borrower went through an assessment, the EDC reported, and the average loan size was about $65,000.
Some $745,000 has been repaid to the program already, the EDC reported, and are ready to be re-loaned. Loans are limited to one per borrower.
The EDC recommended that the maximum loan size be lowered to $75,000 loans for five-year terms, and to increase the service fee from $55 to $65. The EDC also recommended that the interest rate be raised from 6 percent to 7 percent and that seasonal deferments be implemented for seasonal businesses.
Supervisor Monica Brown asked about the health of the businesses that the program loans to. She said she would like the businesses to use these funds to get going but not to rely on these loans over time.
“The idea is we get them started and then they continue so that they are here a long time,” Brown said.
Supervisor Wanda Williams thanked the EDC for administering the program and called it a “blessing” for small businesses in the community. She said she was initially concerned about raising interest rates but was ultimately glad to see that they are highly competitive with other options.
Williams asked if the funds still needed to be disbursed to businesses impacted by COVID-19, and why businesses have to be in business for over two years before they can receive the loans. Staff said that the funds coming back do not have to be re-loaned or treated as outstanding ARPA funds.
“These just become likened to general fund dollars,” Richards said.
The EDC said a two-year term in business is enough time to establish a track record as a business so that they can better evaluate applicants, and that businesses are often seeking capital to expand about two years into their existence. The city of Vallejo has also put some of its own funding into the program, Supervisor Mitch Mashburn explained.
According to the EDC in June of 2025, 74 percent of loans were provided to minority owned businesses, and over 50 percent of the loans were provided to women-owned businesses.