Industrial Development Authority helps build region

The recent expansions at Southeast Missouri Hospital and Saint Francis Medical Center came from industrial development bonds that the Cape Girardeau County Industrial Development Authority approved. One advantage to the bonds that were issued to the two hospitals, as well as to all bonds approved by the authority, is perhaps the one thing that many people don't know about the authority: the authority's bonds are tax exempt.

"That's the attractive part," Mitch Robinson said about the bonds. Robinson works closely with the authority's board of seven directors on approving industrial development bonds.

Robinson said the tax-exempt status for authority bonds is significant enough that it can be the determining factor in a business or not-for-profit organization choosing to use authority-approved bonds.

A second advantage to doing business with the authority, that many businesses may not know, is that its board of directors is made up of local businessmen, Robinson said.

"They know the local community and have a definite interest in watching it grow," he said.

Saint Francis Medical Center Heart Hospital and Cancer Institute

The authority was set up in 1979 in Cape Girardeau County after a federal law mandated that an official committee must assist in the oversight of bond approval in U.S. cities. The authority's main function is to assist manufacturing companies and not-for-profit organizations in processing their bonds.

Jerry Lorberg, who was nominated in mid-January as the new president on the authority's board of directors, said it isn't financially beneficial for businesses to seek industrial development bond issues less than $500,000. In this scenario, the processing costs for industrial development bonds would exceed the money saved through the bonds' low interest rates.

The authority is good for local businesses because they profit from the economic activity generated from new business start-ups or additions to existing businesses, Robinson said. Lorberg said the authority has approved more than $300,000,000 in industrial development bonds since its startup.

Lorberg, who has served on the board since its formation, said the No. 1 priority of the authority is to create jobs in Cape County. He also said the authority has helped bring new businesses to the county due to the bonds tax-exemp status and low-interest rates. These businesses have helped establish a strong tax-base in Cape County that has aided, for example, in the development of public schools.

The authority has helped other area groups, such as the Cape Girardeau School Board. Every time the school board wants the passage of a bond issue, the authority helps promote the board's bonds by providing financial support for elections.

One of the authority's goals for 2010 is to continue providing support and financial assistance for companies and organizations that need long-term debt for their projects.

The authority was established with a $5,000 loan by the Cape Girardeau County Commission. Lorberg said the commission was surprised when the loan was paid back, which attests to the responsible financial standards of the authority.