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RESOLUTION DIRECTING THE COUNTY MAYOR OR COUNTY MAYOR�S DESIGNEE TO ANALYZE THE FEASIBILITY OF ESTABLISHING A LOW-INTEREST REVOLVING LOAN PROGRAM�TO BE ADMINISTERED BY THE DADE COUNTY FEDERAL CREDIT UNION OR A SIMILAR TRUSTED LOCAL FINANCIAL INSTITUTION�TO ASSIST LOCAL SMALL BUSINESSES WITH THE COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH FINANCING AND INSTALLING CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS REASONABLY NECESSARY FOR COMPLIANCE WITH THE COUNTY�S FATS, OILS, AND GREASE (�FOG�) REGULATIONS; AND REQUIRING A REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION

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WHEREAS, on May 21, 2013, the Board adopted Resolution No. R-393-13, authorizing the execution of the Consent Decree, Case No. 1:12-cv-24400-FAM, effective December 6, 2013, between Miami-Dade County, the United States of America, the State of Florida, and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (�FDEP�), in order to comply with the Federal Clean Water Act, chapter 403, Florida Statutes, and the Florida Administrative Code, with the purpose of eliminating sanitary sewer overflows and prohibited bypasses; and
WHEREAS, paragraph 19(a) of the Consent Decree required the County to review, evaluate, and revise its existing Grease Trap Ordinance and Fats, Oils, and Grease (�FOG�) Control Program, subject to review and approval by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (�EPA�) and FDEP; and
WHEREAS, the Grease Trap Ordinance and FOG Control Program required food service establishments to install and maintain grease interceptors to minimize the discharge of fats, oils, and grease that would otherwise cause sewer blockages, sanitary sewer overflows, and prohibited sewer bypasses; and
WHEREAS, on September 7, 2017, the EPA and FDEP gave final approval for amendments to the Grease Trap Ordinance and FOG Control Program, which provided additional design and operation requirements to assist food service establishments, design professionals, contractors, and others with the design, construction, and maintenance of effective FOG control devices; and
WHEREAS, on February 21, 2018, the Board adopted Ordinance No. 18-22, which codified those amendments in the Code of Miami-Dade County, Florida; and
WHEREAS, the majority of the County�s FOG regulations are codified in section 24-42.6 of the Code, which was created by Ordinance No. 18-22 and which includes, among other things, new and more demanding standards for new FOG control devices; and
WHEREAS, installing compliant grease interceptors and other FOG equipment can present high upfront costs for businesses, and particularly for small businesses; and
WHEREAS, at the same time, investing in such equipment can be a preventative measure to help reduce equipment maintenance costs, avert damage to public infrastructure, prevent environmental harm, and avoid the financial burdens of being subject to enforcement action for non-compliance; and
WHEREAS, the Dade County Federal Credit Union (�DCFCU�) is a Florida not-for-profit financial cooperative based in Miami-Dade County; and
WHEREAS, DCFCU is a trusted local financial partner with experience in community lending, including experience assisting local small businesses; and


WHEREAS, for example, this Board previously created the Reinvesting in our Small Business Economy (�RISE�) Miami-Dade Fund during the COVID-19 pandemic, seeded with a $25,000,000.00 allocation from the Federal CARES Act, as a revolving loan program to be administered by DCFCU to assist micro and small business owners; and
WHEREAS, while the RISE Miami-Dade Fund was initially created to assist small businesses impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to its self-sustaining nature it continues to provide competitive, low-interest loans to local small businesses to this day and serves as a fine example of a public-private partnership between Miami-Dade County and DCFCU; and
WHEREAS, this Board believes that establishing a similar low-interest revolving loan program�to be administered by DCFCU or a similar trusted local financial institution�to assist small businesses with the costs associated with financing and installing FOG-related capital improvements may benefit the public health, safety, and welfare of Miami-Dade County, and therefore desires to direct the County Mayor or County Mayor�s designee to examine the feasibility of same and provide a report and recommendation to this Board,
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, FLORIDA, that this Board:
Section 1. Directs the County Mayor or County Mayor�s designee to analyze the feasibility of establishing a low-interest revolving loan program�to be administered by DCFCU or a similar trusted local financial institution�to assist small businesses with the costs associated with financing and installing capital improvements reasonably necessary for compliance with the County�s fats, oils, and grease (�FOG�) regulations.

Section 2. Further directs the County Mayor or County Mayor�s designee to recommend to this Board the most cost-efficient and effective said program. Such recommendation shall, at a minimum: (a) identify a proposed legally available funding source or sources for the program; (b) identify proposed eligibility criteria for small businesses to access the program, including, but not limited to, a cap on annual gross sales and number of employees, a minimum credit score, a minimum duration the business must be established, and whether the program should be limited to a particular small business type (such as restaurants, bakeries, and the like); (c) identify a proposed trusted local financial institution, such as DCFCU or a similar institution, to administer the program; (d) identify proposed eligible uses of loan funds; (e) identify proposed annual reporting requirements regarding the status of the program; and (f) identify any other relevant factors for this Board�s consideration. The County Mayor or County Mayor�s designee shall prepare a report detailing the foregoing for Board consideration within 60 days of the effective date of this resolution. The completed report shall be placed on an agenda of the full Board without committee review pursuant to rule 5.06(j) of the Board�s Rules of Procedure.