Township: State Says Residents Must Apply for SBA Loans in Order to Receive CDBG Funds

In order to receive future funding for recovery from Superstorm Sandy, residents must first apply for Small Business Administration funding, the deadline for which is March 1.

The township, in a statement, said the state has reached that conclusion and just notified municipalities.

"We were just informed that failure to apply for SBA disaster funding could disqualify residents from receiving CDBG funding," said Mayor Stephen C. Acropolis. "While many residents may have already applied, those who have not have less than two weeks to do so."

CDBG funding refers to federal Community Development Block Grants.

SBA is the primary source of federal funds for long-term rebuilding, the statement said. In most cases, Federal Emergency Management Agency money will not cover all of the repair needs of homeowners.

By returning the SBA loan application, homeowners may be eligible for up to $200,000 to repair or replace their storm-damaged home. Homeowners and renters may be eligible for up to $40,000 for replacement of personal property such as clothing, furniture, cars and appliances.

For businesses and private nonprofit organizations, the SBA may loan up to $2 million to repair or replace storm-damaged property.

There is no obligation to accept an SBA disaster home loan and homeowners and renters may become eligible for additional FEMA grants if they are not approved for a loan.

The quickest way to apply for an SBA disaster home or business loan is filling out an online application at https://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela.

For additional information on SBA, contact the customer service center by calling 800-659-2955 (for people who are deaf or hard of hearing TTY 800-877-8339), emailing disastercustomerservice@sba.gov or visiting sba.gov.