Section 290.50  Application Procedure and Content

a)         Subject to the availability of funds, the Office of the State Fire Marshal will annually issue application forms for zero-interest loans under this program to all fire departments.  Each application form provided shall identify the information applicants must include in their loan requests and shall require that the loan application be returned to the Office no later than the late date specified in the application form.  Applications shall be returned to the Office of the State Fire Marshal, Attention:  Fire Truck Revolving Loan Program, 1035 Stevenson Drive, Springfield, Illinois 62703-4259.

b)         Each loan application shall include the following components:

1)         A completed application form supplied by the Office and signed by the duly authorized officers of the fire department.

2)         A description of the fire department's need for the proposed fire truck in light of the resources available to the fire department.

3)         Identification of the personnel to serve as contacts for information.

4)         Budget information, including copies of the two most recent audits (and/or income and expense reports) for the unit of local government, as well as information on the source of loan repayment funds.  If repayment plans are based on charitable contributions (local fundraisers, for example), the applicant must provide a history of amounts raised in prior years.

5)         Certifications and assurances as the Office and/or Authority may require.

6)         All other information as requested on the loan application form and in the program guidance section of the application.

c)         Applications received at the Office shall be logged in as received and assigned an Application Number by the Office. 

d)         Applications shall be assessed by blind review, meaning the Committee shall not see the name, address or any specific information that identifies the applicant.  The Committee shall review and rank the applications based on assessment of need and information provided in the loan application.

e)         After the Committee's review and ranking of applications, loan dollar amounts will be assigned to the loan applications up to the maximum amount of funding available for loans under this program.  Approval of an application by the Committee is not, nor should be, construed as any form of commitment or guarantee on the part of the Authority to the applicant unit that the proposed loan will be made.

f)          Those loan applications recommended for approval shall be forwarded to the Authority for review under its guidelines of creditworthiness.  The Authority, after completion of its review, will notify the Committee which loan applications it will approve, subject to the end of the appeals process outlined in Section 290.60.

(Source:  Amended at 32 Ill. Reg. 8745, effective May 29, 2008)