Rural Opportunity Zone legislation
Phillips County becomes a ROZ (Rural Opportunity Zone) Opt-in County
The Board of Phillips County Commissioners Phillips County, Kansas on September 6, 2011, adopted a resolution authorizing the county’s participation in the Student Loan Repayment Program within the Rural Opportunity Zone legislation. Phillips County, along with forty-nine other counties across Kansas, had already been designed as ROZ locations; though, this portion of the legislation which needed match funding support from the local county, was presented to each county as an option to participate. Over several months, a common slang phrase used within development groups has been ROZ “opt-in” County, to describe the Student Loan Repayment Program. Any way you phrase it, Phillips County has now joined the peer group of ROZ counties that provides the Student Loan Repayment Program to new residents which qualify. This program will provide Phillips Countyanother tool to recruit individuals back to the area.
Qualifications of the Student Loan Repayment Program: Establish residency in a ROZ county after July 1, 2011 and on or after the date on which the County opt-in to the student loan program or for which its resolution allows. The Phillips County resolution allows for a 16-week calendar window prior to the September 6, 2011 signing. The primary reasoning for the window was to allow residents which had recently returned to the area, taken jobs, and returned because of the initial designation by the State of Kansas of Phillips County in the ROZ program. To qualify for the loan forgiveness program, an individual must hold an associates, bachelors, post-graduate degree, or technical/vocational school certificate, have an outstanding student loan balance, be current on the loan payments, and prove their new residency is located in Phillips County.
Phillips County is excited to have this opportunity to attract new residents to the county. Please contact Phillips County Economic Development at 785-543-5809 or pced2@ruraltel.net if you would like more information. Visit http://www.kansascommerce.com/index.aspx?NID=320 if you would like to learn more about the program or apply. All applications for the program are submitted online through this website.