Greenville council members passed a resolution Tuesday requesting a $660,000 emergency loan from the state to help the borough stay afloat financially during the last quarter of the year.

The $660,000 -- coming in the form of a no-interest loan -- will be the first chunk of money dispersed to the borough through the state Act 47 program for financially distressed communities.

Borough Manager Kenneth S. Weaver said he's hopeful that the borough will receive the money from the state Department of Community and Economic Development, which administers the Act 47 program, by the end of the month.

The borough would not have been able to cover all of its operating expenses for the remainder of the year without the fiscal life preserver, Weaver said.

"We have gotten by to this point. But we simply would not have had the money to get through and survive the last three months of the year," Weaver said.

The borough, which formally became a financially distressed community in May, is expected to apply for more money next year after it crafts its long-term recovery plan.

The borough will pay back the emergency and long-term recovery loans from the state over a period of years. The borough can't exit the Act 47 program until it has paid back all of the loans.

You can email Herald Staff Writer Tom Fontaine at tfontaine@sharonherald.com