Peoria County is spending the next month giving board members more financial and job information about an environmental tech company in line for a large loan. A county committee deferred signing-off on a $2.5 million loan for Peoria-based ELM LLC by one month. Mark Rothert is the county’s Assistant Administrator for Economic Development. He says there are differences between ELM and the County’s loan to Firefly Energy, that went belly-up:
“It is a large loan. Both companies operate in the energy sector. But I think that’s where the comparisons stop. ELM has been in existence since 1998, it’s a successful firm, and has shown that over the last 20 years.”
Rothert also says staff supports deferring the committee vote on the loan because they don’t want to rush the process. In other business, the full Peoria County board will consider approving service fee increases for the County Recorder, Clerk and Circuit Clerk’s offices. The increases, if approved, are set to help the county fill a $3.5 million projected budget deficit.