The $7.1 billion in earmark, or “community project funding,” requests from House members included everything from infrastructure to workforce training to police equipment. Arizona lawmakers’ requests were relatively modest compared to the rest of the House. (File photo by Jenna Miller/ Cronkite News)
Rural and tribal communities in Arizona that are looking to develop infrastructure projects to support their communities now have access to financial assistance to help complete them.
Gov. Katie Hobbs, the Office of Economic Opportunity and the Arizona Finance Authority relaunched the Greater Arizona Development Authority (GADA) this week with a new round of financial assistance available for rural and tribal communities.
“The purpose of GADA is to help finance publicly owned infrastructure,” Greater Arizona Development Authority Director Mary Foote said, adding the projects can include roads, water or community centers.
Foote said any project that will be owned and publicly maintained is eligible for the program, and GADA will be able to provide rural and tribal communities with low-cost financing for either rural infrastructure development or improvements.
GADA is a state infrastructure bank for rural and tribal communities, pledging its funds as collateral to unlock bonding for cities and towns that lack access to traditional capital markets. It leverages private financing to assist rural communities and tribal governments with the development of public infrastructure projects.
It was established in 1997 but has been inactive for nearly 10 years.
“GADA is a proven tool for assisting economic development in our rural communities,” Hobbs said in a press release. “By reinvigorating this tool, we are providing an opportunity to leverage existing funds to invest in essential infrastructure all across Arizona.”
From 1997 to 2014, the GADA supported 84 projects across the state and issued $574 million in bonds to rural community projects, including the construction of firehouses, community centers, libraries, municipal complexes and transportation improvements in dozens of rural communities.
Arizona Finance Authority Board Chair Robin Romano said GADA’s mission is to assist rural Arizona communities and tribal governments with the development of public infrastructure projects that enhance community and economic growth.
“Investing in our rural and tribal communities is vital to the success of Arizona,” Romano added. “The Board looks forward to financing between $50 (million) and $100 million within the next year.”
Foote said the relaunch of GADA is important because state and federal officials are paying more attention and understanding how vital it is to invest in public infrastructure.
“It’s really important for us to be able to offer this to rural communities and tribal communities because we know costs have gone up, both interest rates and material costs,” Foote said. “That’s why we’re here, and reintroducing this program is to help alleviate some of that.”
Foote said no projects were done within tribal communities during the GADA initial iteration, which is why outreach to tribes seeking assistance is a priority for their office.
Inter Tribal Council of Arizona Executive Director Maria Dadgar said that Indigenous communities and tribal nations are often underserved when it comes to access to capital and other resources essential to infrastructure development.
“Economic conditions vary amongst the 22 tribes in Arizona and GADA could serve as a valuable partner in terms of providing capital to address ongoing infrastructure needs on tribal lands,” she added.
The application for the GADA program opened on August 1, and it will accept applications until Oct. 1. For more information about the program, visit www.gada.az.gov.
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