County and Nonprofit Part Ways

San Bernardino County has cut financial ties with Inland Empire Economic Recovery more than two years after its creation.

The corporation recently announced the break. The IEERC will continue to operate as a nonprofit organization, and will be solely financed through private equity groups, county officials said.

And they will continue paying back the $2.5 million in seed money the county invested. So far the corporation has paid back $900,000.

Created in part by county officials, the corporation funds the rehabilitation of foreclosed and abandoned homes, officials said. It also tries to help to stabilize real estate values in distressed neighborhoods by purchasing, renovating and reselling foreclosed properties, officials said.

The corporation has rehabilitated 45 homes, and according to a news release, created 68 local jobs and stimulated growth in local construction and mortgage industries.

The parting of ways was part of the plan made back in 2009, officials said. The corporation was launched at a time when the county was better off financially, said David Wert, public information officer for the county.

“Of course the idea was that the county was going to receive its money back and the county is going to receive its money back,” Wert said of the arrangement. “So it really ends up being no cost to the county and we have an organization in place that is doing some good.”

"We are very grateful to San Bernardino County for its participation in helping us get this corporation off the ground,” said Robert Hooker, executive director of the corporation. “The county’s support has been instrumental in ensuring IEERC’s success and growth, and now it is self-sufficient enough to stand on its own.”