Lenon’s main business news

ATLANTA — The Atlanta Volunteer Fire Department will get its first new firetruck in 20 years following a Town Council vote Wednesday night.

“Thank you very much,” said Fire Chief Kevin Strausbaugh, after the three-member council voted unanimously to obtain a $150,000 loan from First Farmers Bank to buy the truck.
The Fire Department has raised $45,000 as a down payment, and the town’s payoff for the 15-year loan will be $224,000, including interest.
The town will use the money to buy a 2007 Toyne pumper tanker, which the department has had since October but couldn’t use to fight fires because the town did not own it.
“We made a verbal commitment that we would buy it, and now it’s going to happen,” said Todd Gullion, assistant fire chief.
The town’s only firetruck, he said, was purchased in 1987 and can fit only two firefighters inside. The new truck can hold five firefighters.
“This new engine will do just about anything, including being a pumper and tanker,” Gullion said.
The Town Council voted in November to buy a new firetruck, with councilmen John Phifer and Larry Price voting for the purchase, and Councilman Abe Evans voting against it.
Evans, who along with Price lost his council seat in this year’s election, voted in favor of buying the truck Wednesday night despite misgivings about the town taking on additional debt.
“I just don’t think the town can afford a new firetruck,” Evans said Wednesday, explaining his change of heart by pointing out that the town secured the 15-year loan at a fixed rate of 5.49 percent.
Incoming councilmen Denny Bozell and Andy Emmert, who take office Tuesday, have threatened to terminate the firetruck loan.
In a letter outlining their opinions about the purchase, both men said if the town purchased the truck, “We represent two-thirds of the incoming council, (and) we will be forced to act in the best interest of the entire community and terminate the (loan).”
Their letter said the town couldn’t afford the payments, and a used firetruck in Cicero Township in Tipton County would suit the department’s needs.
Gullion said the Cicero Township firetruck is old and has been damaged no fax payday loans faxless payday loans. Although the department would sell it to Atlanta for $45,000, Gullion said, the truck needs repairs that could cost thousands.
Bozell and Emmert did not attend Wednesday’s meeting.
“I think them not being here shows they don’t have a concern about it,” Price said.
Phifer said the town can afford the payments, which total about $15,000 per year.
“I see no reason why the town can’t come up with the money,” Phifer said. “It’s for health and safety.”
Town attorney David Langolf Smith said terminating the loan would make it difficult to get another in the future, and the town may be required to pay fines.
“This is a great asset to northern Hamilton County and will be used for mutual aid throughout the county,” said Jackson Township Trustee Joe Robbins. “It may be a large cost, but for public safety it’s needed.”
Sourse

A LOAN company has been accused of preying on needy Hackney residents by offering loans with sky-high interest rates over the festive period.

A flier for the Oakam money store, featuring a happy mother and child, has been dropping through the borough’s letter-boxes offering residents the chance to borrow up to ?800, which would not have to be paid back until next year cash advance now.

However, the small print on the back reveals that the annual interest rate is a staggering 442 per cent, so customers would have to pay back more than ?3,500 over a 12-month period.

Charities representing the vulnerable and debt advisors have been quick to condemn the astonishing rates.

Sourse

The first day Detroit Municipal Credit Union offered a special loan to help with Christmas expenses, more than 300 members started lining up at its offices by 4 a.m.

By the end of the next day, Nov. 6, more than 1,000 Detroit-area families had signed up for the Holiday Quick Loans, which the $318 million-asset credit union is offering for the first time this year. It set aside $500,000 to fund the loans, which were available in amounts of $300 to $500.

“With the holidays coming up, we wanted to do something to help get our members through some difficult financial times,” said Kathie Trembath, Detroit Municipal’s chief executive officer. “Some of the people applying can’t get credit elsewhere or are overextended.”

Ms. Trembath said that she knew there was a definite need for the loans, and that the credit union was seeking to deter members from turning to payday lenders. However, she acknowledged that she had not expected demand to be so high.

“We didn’t want members to pay exorbitant rates” to payday lenders, “but by Tuesday the following day, we gave out all the loan applications and had to start a wait list,” she said.

The requirements for getting a Holiday Quick Loan are relatively easy pay day advance. Members need to have held their current jobs for at least two years to qualify for $300 and five years to qualify for $500; each member must sign up for payroll deduction and must be in good standing with the credit union to qualify for the no-credit-check loans.

The loans carry an interest rate of 18%. Members have four months to repay a $300 loan and six months to repay a $500 loan.

Despite the inherent risk associated with a no-credit-check loan, Ms. Trembath is projecting that no more than 2% of the loans her credit union makes through the program will have to be written off.

“We hope we don’t sustain high losses, because we hope we can do this every six months,” she said. “It’s a win-win for everybody, because members don’t have to pay the high cost of payday loans, and we’re able to increase the number of loans we make.”

Not everyone taking out a Holiday Quick Loan plans to buy holiday gifts or a 20-pound turkey with the money. Ms. Trembath said she believed only 50% of the loans would be used for holiday gifts, with the other half being used to pay bills.

“The loan amounts aren’t that large, but for some living paycheck to paycheck, it can make a great difference,” she said.

Sourse