R357-1. Rural Fast Track Program, R357. Governor, Economic Development, Utah Administrative Code

Utah Administrative Code (Current through November 1, 2019)

R357-1-1. Authority

Latest version.

(1) Subsection 63N-3-104 permits the administrator to make rules governing the following aspects of the Rural Fast Track Program:

(a) The content of the application form;

(b) Who qualifies as an employee; and

R357-1-2. Definitions

Latest version.

(1) "Administrator" means the Director of the Governor's Office of Economic Development or the Director's designee.

(2) "Office" means the Utah Governor's Office of Economic Development (GOED).

(3) "Baseline employment number" means the same as the term is used in part R357-1-5(4)(a) of this section.

(4) "Full Time Employee" (FTE) means an employee who works at least 30 hours per week at the location of the Rural Fast Track project.

(5) "In business" means the business was legally formed, and is measured from the date upon which a business or company was formed or created as shown on articles of incorporation, certificate of existence, state registration, or other similar, legally sufficient document.

(6) "Leisure and Hospitality" has the same meaning as the definition in the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Codes.

(7) "New incremental job" means a Full Time Employee position created in addition to the baseline employment number.

(8) "Production agriculture" means the act of cultivating land and rearing crops and livestock.

(9) "Professional services" means services that are provided by a certified member of a professional body, e.g. accounting, legal, or medical.

(10) "Profitability" means a positive net income as demonstrated on tax returns for the most recent two years for which tax returns are available.

(a) If net income shown on tax returns is less than $1, the applicant company may still demonstrate profitability by providing receipts to ORD that show capital improvements made in company infrastructure for the corresponding tax years.

(b) Qualifying capital investment receipts plus net income must be greater than $1 to demonstrate profitability. Accelerated depreciation may not be used in this calculation.

(11) "Resort community" means a municipality in which the transient room capacity as defined in Utah Code Section 59-12-405 is greater than or equal to 66% of the municipality's permanent census population.

(12) "Retail" means a business or person that sells goods to an end-user or consumer.

(13) "Small company" means the same as the definition for small business as set forth by the United States Small Business Administration's Table of Small Business Size Standards Match to North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes.

(14) "Specialized vehicle" means a vehicle which is used exclusively for business purposes, and has been modified or specialized through the addition of equipment, and other permanently attached tools, and performs specific and specialized functions.

(15) "Unique project" means a project that adds a new product, service, or process distinct and separate from any project for which the applicant company has previously received funding under this program.

(16) "Value-added agriculture" is a process which results in a change in the physical state or form of an agricultural product in a manner that enhances its value and expands the customer base of the product, e.g. milling wheat into flour or making strawberries into jam.

R357-1-3. Content of the Application

Latest version.

(1) An application shall include the following information:

(a) Company name;

(b) Federal tax ID number;

(d) Mailing and street address;

(e) Telephone number;

(f) Date that company was created;

(g) The following additional information shall be provided in a form prescribed by the Office:

(i) The number of full time employees employed by the applicant for the prior two calendar years; and

(ii) Wages paid to all of the applicant's employees for the prior two calendar years.

(iii) Articles of incorporation, certificate of existence, state registration, or other document showing the date the business was legally formed;

(iv) Applicant Company must demonstrate profitability for the previous 2 years, through the submission of Applicant's State and Federal tax returns for the previous two tax cycles;

(v) If net income from tax returns is less than $1:

(vi) Receipts for capital improvements during tax years for which Applicant provided tax returns;

(vii) Letter of Support from local Economic Development Director (EDD) or elected official over economic development in the county, tribe, or city where the business is located;

(viii) A report issued by the Department of Workforce Services documenting the number of employees at the company and the total wages paid to employees of the company for the past 2 calendar years; and

(ix) If an applicant is seeking a grant pursuant to Utah Code Section 63N-3-104(5)(d), the applicant shall submit a detailed project description that demonstrates what the project is, how the project will benefit the company and how many new full-time employees applicant will hire as a result of the project.

(x) Any other information as requested by Office of Rural Development (ORD), or the Governor's Rural Partnership Board (GRPB), or the Office.

R357-1-4. Application and Approval Procedure

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(1) Pre-Application

(a) All companies must fill out and submit a pre-application that shall be reviewed, and approved by GOED staff, before proceeding to a full application.

a. The Pre-Application process will be used to determine eligibility and sufficiency of documentation.

(2) Full Application

(a) If applicant is approved to proceed to a full application, full applications shall undergo a comprehensive internal review by ORD and may be sent to the Governor's Rural Partnership Board (GRPB) executive committee for endorsement.

(b) Applications may also be reviewed and endorsed by the Governor's Office of Economic Development (GOED) Board.

(3) Company may not commence performance on the contract until the Rural Fast Track contract agreement is completely executed without prior written permission from the administrator.

R357-1-5. Employees

Latest version.

(1) When counting FTEs, if an FTE has its employment with Applicant terminated for any reason before completion of the applicable Rural Fast Track Disbursement Period, another employee otherwise meeting the requirements described above may be promptly hired to fill the terminated FTE's position and complete the year of qualifying full-time employment. In such case, applicant and the office would count the combined contribution of these two (2) full time employees as one (1) FTE.

(a) A replacement employee must be hired within 60 days of the first employee's termination date for the position to remain qualifying for FTE purposes during a given Rural Fast Track Disbursement Period.

(2) At the time of application, the ORD Business Analyst shall establish the company's baseline employment number.

(a) The baseline employment number is the highest total number of Full Time Employees at any time during the previous 24 month period.

(3) A new incremental job may be filled by an existing employee if a new employee fills the position vacated by the current employee.

(4) Applicant Company must demonstrate at least one new incremental job above the baseline through documentation provided by the Department of Workforce Services.

R357-1-6. Grants, Loans, and Other Financial Assistance Pursuant to Utah Code Section 63N-3-104(5)

Latest version.

(1) Applications for grants, loans, and other financial assistance may be approved up to $50,000 if the applicant passes the verification and approval process described below.

(2) All financial assistance granted pursuant to this section shall be awarded as post-performance reimbursements.

(3) Awards will be made on a dollar for dollar matching basis up to $50,000 with the applicant providing matching funds;

(a) Awards will not be made for equipment or other qualifying items that are replacing existing items, but replacement costs may be considered as part of the total project cost;

(b) Applications for specialized vehicles may be approved on a dollar for dollar matching basis up to $25,000 with the applicant providing matching funds.

(4) Payment under this part shall be made only after qualifying expenditures are verified and a site visit is completed by ORD staff.

(5) Any subsequent applications by a company having received a Rural Fast Track award may only be considered for another grant if the second application is for a unique project and at least 18 months have passed after the most recent award was granted.

(6) ORD staff may require additional information during the grant process.

(7) Items that are not eligible for grants, loans, or other financial assistance under 63N-3-104(5) include the following:

(a) Laptop or desktop computers and other standard office equipment;

(b) Non-specialized vehicles;

(d) Retail, except in eligible L and H counties or resort communities; and

(e) Other items as identified by GOED, ORD, or GRPB on a case by case basis.

(f) The above ineligible items may be approved in exceptional circumstances with the written approval of the administrator.

R357-1-7. Verification

Latest version.

(1) Following completion of the applicant project the ORD may conduct a site visit to the applicant company location. During that site visit ORD shall visually inspect the physical property to determine the completion of the project.

(2) Applicant shall provide to ORD documentation of all expenses related to applicant project, including, but not limited to receipts, invoices, loan documents, etc.

(3) Applicant shall provide documentation from the Department of Workforce Services demonstrating at least one new incremental job over the baseline job number.

(4) Applicant shall provide documentation detailing the salary paid to the new incremental job.