Seward County Qualifies for
Rural Opportunity Zone Program

Prior to the pandemic and after the initial surge in unemployment during the pandemic, unemployment rates in Kansas and in Seward County are once again low. The most recent data for Seward County listed our unemployment rate at 2.8%. These consistently low rates force Kansas to compete nationally for workforce, and as that competition increases, the state is finding the need to expand its available incentives. This is not unique to Kansas. Tulsa, Oklahoma, for example, will pay remote workers $10,000 to move to the city. West Virginia has created a state-wide plan that pays $20,000 over two years to new employees who meet the qualifications. One option available for Kansas Counties is the Rural Opportunity Zones.

Developed and passed as legislation more than a decade ago, Rural Opportunity Zones were created to encourage workers to move to rural counties in Kansas. New residents who qualify for the program can receive incentives in two important ways: 

1. Student Loan Repayment Assistance

• Administered By Kansas Department of Commerce (KDC)
• Partners with Counties, Cities, Employers, and Foundations
• Provides up to $15,000 in Student Loan Repayment Assistance over 5 years

2. 100 % State Income Tax Credit

• Administered By Kansas Department of Revenue (KDOR)
• Filed with state taxes; only eligible with online filing on KDOR website

The 2021 Kansas Legislature passed SB47, which widened the definition of ROZ counties. Prior to this year, counties with a population of more than 20,000 people were not eligible to apply. SB47 raised that county population max to 40,000, making eighteen new counties eligible and bringing the total statewide count to ninety-five counties. 

Counties, Cities, Businesses, and Foundations are eligible to sponsor new employees in this program; however, the Board of County Commissioners are required to sign an agreement with the State of Kansas prior to any entity participating. A county can designate funds to the program to be used in the student loan repayment assistance program, or a county can sign a $0 Agreement that allows entities within the county--cities, businesses, or foundations--to participate and provide their own funding. 

Seward County was notified in late May that it now qualified for the program. Since then, the Board of County Commissioners has participated in Webinars and other information gathering in order to understand their role in this opportunity and what they can do prior to the June 30 deadline for filing the Resolution. 

The Seward County Development Corporation is one of 66 communities/organizations across the state that have partnered with Network Kansas as an Entrepreneurship Community (E-Community). This gives our residents access to a number of Board Certified Programs as well as Business Financing options. Traditionally, these financing programs have served as gap financing to support lending efforts from local banks; however, the Seward County E-Community will soon be launching a new pilot program with Network Kansas to target our unique population. 

Seward County and Ford County were selected to participate in this pilot loan program because of our active E-Communities and our significant minority populations. Funds from these loans can be used three ways:

• Start a Business
• Expand a Business
• Purchase an Existing Business

The goal of this program is to support minority-owned businesses in our counties. Many minority-owned businesses do not use traditional financing options to launch a business and, instead, rely on savings or personal investment for start-up or expansion costs. We hope to change that through this program by providing a lending bridge. Experience with this program will encourage these businesses to seek other financing through our local banks and show our loan providers that these businesses are profitable. 

Applications for the new loans are scheduled to be available by mid June. A business must be at least 51% owned by a minority (non-white) individual, and the business must be in Seward County (or Ford County for their program). The applications will be reviewed by our local E-Community Financial Review Board. Network Kansas will administer the loans. The particular details of the loans--maximum amounts, terms, and interest rates--will be released when the applications become available. 

If you are small business owner who qualifies, or you know someone who would, look for more information on the Seward County Development Corporation's website www.swks.org or contact Eli Svaty at 620-604-5136. 

The Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) is a federal tax credit available to employers for hiring individuals from certain target groups who have consistently faced significant barriers to employment.
This allows the individual to move from economic dependency into self-sufficiency as they earn a steady income and become contributing taxpayers. An employer can receive a federal tax credit that varies between the amounts of $2,400 to $9,600 per applicant.

The WOTC target groups include: Qualified veteran recipients

• Veteran receiving SNAP
• Disabled Veteran
• Unemployed Disabled Veteran (6 months unemployed)
• Unemployed Veteran (4 weeks unemployed)
• Unemployed Veteran (6 months unemployed)
• Individuals with criminal records
• Designated community resident or Rural Renewal County (RRC) recipients
• Vocational rehabilitation referral
• Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) recipients 
• Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients
• Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipients
• Ticket-to-Work recipients
• Qualified long-term unemployment recipients

For more information, visit the Kansas Department of Commerce page on WOTC or contact Ashla Stowe, Public Service Administrator III (785) 296-7435 or Ashla.Stowe@ks.gov

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