Regulations for Equipment Loan Program

[Paulette Akers]

We are writing regulations for our equipment loan program and would love some info from other states.

• Does your agency have a program where districts can purchase equipment for shared use?
• Is that program open to individuals or only for districts to purchase equipment?
• Is there a specific list of equipment they can purchase? If yes, can you provide a link to the list?
• What happens if they don’t make payments or otherwise breach the contract requirements?
• Does your agency repossess the equipment?
• What reporting do you require?

[Brad Shedd]

In Mississippi we have an education enhancement program/revolving loan fund that we get $75,000 from the legislature each year and we match that with $75,000. We purchase equipment for districts where they pay half, and we pay half of the equipment cost. We finance the district part through our revolving loan fund where we finance it for 5 years with 3.5% interest with payments coming due twice a year. The equipment we normally purchase is no till drills, spreaders, aerators, and sprayers. We also have purchased donahue trailers to haul drills and computers and printers. If the districts want something that we haven’t bought before through our education enhancement program it goes before our Mississippi Soil and Water Commission Board for approval. If they don’t use the cost share program and just want to use the loan fund, we will buy anything they want to purchase. Since our cost share program has been in existence so long, we don’t have much interest in just the loan program. We have never had the issue of a district not making payments, but we would send emails out to other districts to see if they have interest in purchasing the piece of equipment for what is left on the payments. We would then just transfer the drill from one district to another. We require them to submit reports bi-annually on the rental records and also the maintenance. If their purchase is through our cost share program they are supposed to take it to a local school/FFA to demonstrate the piece of equipment to students.

Thanks,

Brad

 

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