Hamilton County Courthouse
Hamilton County Mayor Jim Coppinger comments on a portion of his budget to county commissioners in this file photo.Commissioners today are expected to vote on opening a $90 million credit line, selling a half-million-dollar piece of property to a growing tractor company and spending nearly $200,000 on high-tech TVs for two new schools.
Mayor Jim Coppinger said Tuesday the requested credit line will help the county pay for county projects with short-term debt, just like a credit card. According to the resolution, those expenditures will be “various public works projects.” But Coppinger said that could include any structure or project that has a 15-year lifespan.
“We’re going to do it now out of a line of credit, because we can do it more consistency and cheaper,” Coppinger said.
Commissioners Fred Skillern and Tim Boyd say they like the idea — as long as it’s done right.
“In the business world, you use a line of credit to get over the humps and troughs in revenue. What concerns me is if they decide down the road to transfer it to long-term debt,” Boyd said.