Lt. Governor Brown Highlights O'Malley-Brown Jobs Agenda
Showcases successful loan program, applauds neighborhood-based entrepreneurship
HYATTSVILLE, Md. (March 8, 2010) – Lt. Governor Anthony G. Brown joined local business owners and entrepreneurs at Franklin’s Restaurant in Hyattsville today to highlight the O’Malley-Brown administration’s jobs agenda. Brown spoke of the administration’s continued support for small business loan programs, such as the Neighborhood Business Works (NBW) program, and called on the Maryland General Assembly to pass priority legislation that will help small and locally-owned businesses create jobs.
”Governor O’Malley and I share the belief that our small businesses and entrepreneurs are the engine of Maryland’s diverse economy. These businesses are our strongest bridge to recovery,” said Lt. Governor Brown. “We have a strong network of small, family-owned, minority-owned and local businesses across our State, and with the support of the Maryland General Assembly and the leadership of Governor O’Malley, we will enable these vital businesses to thrive and grow for many years to come, providing quality goods and services and creating more jobs for our working families.”
Earlier this year, Governor Martin O’Malley introduced an ambitious jobs agenda as part of his priority legislative package. The Governor’s proposals called for a $3,000 credit for businesses for every unemployed Marylander that it hires. The General Assembly amended that bill to provide a $5,000 credit – capped at $20 million – which, when fully utilized, can account for 4,000 Marylanders coming off the unemployment rolls and reentering into the workforce. The amended bill passed the Senate with unanimous support last month and waits action in the Maryland House of Delegates. In addition, Governor O’Malley submitted emergency legislation to provide immediate unemployment insurance tax relief for small businesses – which passed the Maryland Senate Finance Committee last week – and a series of reforms to modernize the system and stabilize the Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund.
“Healthy small businesses stabilize and revitalize the communities they serve,” said DHCD Secretary Raymond A. Skinner. “Small businesses generate jobs for our neighbors at a time when the recovery remains fragile and they are the engine that drives our economy, nationally and locally.”
The Governor’s budget also allocates funds for grant and loan programs administered by DHCD, including the NBW program that provides subordinate gap financing to small businesses that cannot otherwise gain access to sufficient and affordable private capital. The Maryland Department of Legislative Services has recommended cutting funding for the NBW program by half – a nearly $2 million cut. Citing the success of the program, Lt. Governor Brown urged lawmakers to avoid cutting the program. Since being established in FY96, the program has loaned $57.2 million to 234 small businesses and awarded grants for $19.1 million to 245 nonprofits, creating more than 3,300 jobs across the state.
“It’s really simple: No Neighborhood Business Works, no Franklins,” said Mike Franklin, owner of Franklin’s Restaurant. “Without this program, I would not have been able to expand and without expanding, I would have chosen not to continue.” 
Franklin’s Restaurant provides a strong case study for the program’s success. Mike Franklin received a $500,000 loan in 1995 to open Franklin’s. Today, the restaurant employs 66 people and generates annual State and local tax revenues of nearly $115,000 each year. Franklin’s success is largely credited as being the most significant economic catalyst for the establishment of the Gateway Arts and Entertainment District along Route 1 in Hyattsville. In addition, the EYA Arts District Hyattsville is a $200 million mixed-use development currently under construction two blocks from Franklin’s front door.
“The Neighborhood Business Works program is a life-line to small business,” said Chris Millitello and Chris Davidson, co-owners of Arrow Bicycles. “This financial support has enabled us to provide support and services in the community, create jobs, bring in business from outside our community and support the efforts of organizations like the Special Olympics.”
