Bellflower Will Bail Out Ailing Car Dealership

In a last-ditch effort to save one of its largest sources of sales tax revenue, the Bellflower City Council this week agreed to use $700,000 of its federally allocated funds to help bail out the ailing Ford dealership of Pete Ellis.

The council will give Ellis, once one of the top automobile dealers in Southern California, a grant of $300,000 and an interest-free loan of $400,000. The money comes from the city’s share of U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development community development funds. The funds can be used to help businesses if more than 50% of a business’s employees fall within federal guidelines for low- and moderate-income families.

Last month, Chrysler Corp. shut down Ellis’ three dealerships in South Gate after he had amassed a debt of $12 million to the corporation. Pete Ellis Ford in Bellflower is his last dealership. It provides Bellflower with about $300,000 a year in sales tax revenue.