SMALL BUSINESS : Fate of Santa Ana SBA Office Listed for Closure Still Uncertain

The Small Business Administration’s list of offices to be closed has thinned somewhat since the agency announced its consolidation plans early this month. And that is making the SBA folks in Santa Ana both angry and hopeful.

They are angry because the Santa Ana district office remains on the agency’s hit list, along with some 30 other smaller offices. But they are hopeful because it appears that the list may not yet be set in stone.

An internal memo to workers confirmed that the SBA has decided not to shutter operations in Rochester, N.Y., and Springfield, Mo., apparently after intervention by members of Congress from those areas. Sources indicate that several other offices, including some in Texas, also may be spared.

The SBA’s office in Santa Ana hopes to survive the cuts as well, and it is getting a lot of backing.

Less than two weeks ago, a contingent of the Orange County Business Council flew to Washington to, among other things, talk to legislators about why the Santa Ana district office should remain open.

One argument made: Orange County is suffering enough with the bankruptcy and cannot afford to lose an important incubator of entrepreneurs.

The legislators listened but made no commitment, reported Bruce Brown of the Orange County Business Council, which made saving the SBA office a top priority during its annual pilgrimage to Washington. Brown expressed optimism that the Santa Ana office would be spared.

Orange County bankers and businesses have also taken up the cause, firing off letters to their congressional representatives and top SBA officials. Some have complained that it would be unfair to shut down the third-busiest district office in the country, which made as many business loan guarantees last year as the entire state of New York.

The Santa Ana district office has about 25 employees, whose fate remains up in the air. An internal memo Monday from the SBA’s deputy administrator said that plans for closing the offices are proceeding and have been sent to Congress for approval. But SBA workers are wondering what will happen next.

“The rumors have just been crazy,” said one staffer at the SBA office in Santa Ana. Keeping some offices open is like “rubbing it in the wounds of others that are closing,” the worker said. “It’s getting squirrelly.”