Kansas Business Assistance

Local and Kansas Economic Development Incentives and Support

The following local, state, and federal incentives programs may provide relevant support for your new or existing Pottawatomie County, KS, Business:

Business Planning with the Washburn University Small Business Development Center

The PCEDC cost shares a contract with the Washburn University Small Business Development Center (SBDC). Through this contract, we share the services of a regional small business consultant with adjoining jurisdictions.

SBDC consultant services are confidential and available at no cost to new entrepreneurs and emerging small businesses. Services include assistance with developing business plans, market projections, financial projections, and related analysis and materials needed to enable a new or expanding small business to be bankable.

Services may include helping a new business develop relationships and explore resources with local banks, the USDA, the SBA, the PCEDC Revolving Loan Fund, and more. Moreover, our relationship with SBDC allows prospects to link to a national network of expert small business assistance services when necessary.

Our operational link to the Washburn SBDC can be found here:

WU MACC Outreach Center KSBDC
Manhattan Area Chamber of Commerce (MACC)
Laurie Pieper
501 Poyntz Ave.
Manhattan KS 66502-6605
laurie.pieper@washburn.edu
www.washburn.edu/sbdc
785-587-9917; 785-564-2925 (c)
FAX: 785-776-0679

Pottawatomie County, KS, Revolving Loan Fund

In 2018, Pottawatomie County was designated as a Level 1 Network Kansas E-Community (Entrepreneurship Community). Through this partnership, the PCEDC maintains a revolving loan fund to assist with business start-ups and expansion in the county.

In order to access the loan fund, a Network Kansas Partner (SBA, USDA or financial institutions) must provide matching funds. Please note that this is not a grant fund and all loans must be repaid. For more information about the Pottawatomie County E-Community Revolving Loan Fund, please contact us.

Kansas State Business Incentives Programs

• The Promoting Employment Across Kansas (PEAK) program has incentivized business relocation and expansion since 2009 by allowing eligible companies to receive 95% of the Kansas withholding tax of PEAK-eligible employees/jobs that are paid at or above the county median wage where the PEAK business facility is located.
• The Kansas Industrial Training (KIT) program covers many costs involved in job creation and training including instructor salaries, curriculum planning, materials and other costs.
• The Kansas Industrial Retraining (KIR) program covers many costs of job retention and retraining for employees of restructuring companies who may lose their jobs because of inadequate or obsolete skills.
• The High Performance Incentive Program (HPIP) provides tax incentives to employers that pay above-average wages and have a strong commitment to skills development for their workers. The program provides a substantial investment tax credit for new capital investment in Kansas and a related sales tax exemption.
• Machinery Sales Tax Exemption: The sale of machinery and equipment (including repair and replacement parts and accessories) which is used in Kansas as an integral or essential part of an integrated production operation by a manufacturing or processing plant or facility is exempt from sales tax. Learn more about this and other sales tax exemptions.

USDA Programs

The following USDA programs provide assistance to facilitate rural development and business advancement in Kansas:

• The Community Facilities Direct Loan Program provides affordable funding to develop essential community facilities in rural areas. An essential community facility is defined as a facility that provides an essential service to the local community for the orderly development of the community in a primarily rural area, and does not include private, commercial or business undertakings.
• The Socially Disadvantaged Groups Grant aims to provide technical assistance to socially-disadvantaged groups through cooperatives and Cooperative Development Centers. Each fiscal year, applications are requested through a Notice published in the Federal Register and an announcement posted on Grants.gov.
• The Rural Energy for America Program provides guaranteed loan financing and grant funding to agricultural producers and rural small businesses for renewable energy systems or to make energy efficiency improvements. Agricultural producers may also apply for new energy efficient equipment and new system loans for agricultural production and processing.
• The Water & Waste Disposal Loan & Grant Program provides funding for clean and reliable drinking water systems, sanitary sewage disposal, sanitary solid waste disposal, and storm water drainage to households and businesses in eligible rural areas.
• The Rural Cooperative Development Grant Program improves the economic condition of rural areas by helping individuals and businesses start, expand or improve rural cooperatives and other mutually-owned businesses through Cooperative Development Centers. Grants are awarded through a national competition. Each fiscal year, applications are requested through a notice published in the Federal Register and through an announcement posted on grants.gov.
• The Business & Industry Loan Guarantees program offers loan guarantees to lenders for their loans to rural businesses.

Federal Business Incentives Programs

• New Market Tax Credits (NMTC) — The NMTC Program attracts private capital into low-income communities by permitting individual and corporate investors to receive a tax credit against their federal income tax in exchange for making equity investments in specialized financial intermediaries called community development entities (CDEs). The credit totals 39 percent of the original investment amount and is claimed over a period of seven years.

  Manhattan has several areas in designated census tracts for funding, including areas around Kansas State University and the central business district. Additional information on the NMTC program can be found at https://www.cdfifund.gov/programs-training/Programs/new-markets-tax-credit.

  Projects utilizing the NMTC program will realize up to 20% of the total investment in up-front cash. This can be structured to benefit the company in either a company-owned or developer-owned facility.

• Evergy — Evergy is an investor-owned energy company serving more than 1.6 million customers across Kansas and Missouri, a service area stretching 316 miles west to east and 325 miles north to south, with 62,000 miles of transmission and distribution lines and over 800 substations to deliver power to its customers.
  
  Evergy’s economic development team’s role is to promote and support industry development for companies and communities throughout their service area. Evergy provides comprehensive support for businesses relocating to or expanding in the Evergy service area. Economic growth in communities is supported through local partner programs that help build strong business environments, so communities can grow and prosper.
  
  Additional information on Evergy economic development resources, business support and incentives, including the Economic Development Rider Incentive, can be found at www.evergyed.com.