[AUG. 12, 2005] Finance chairman Chuck Ruben said he received a
letter from city attorney Bill Bates, who is handling the Sysco
agreement, and there is a problem with the debt certificates. At
this time it appears that they are taxable and therefore will incur
an $110,000 fee from the loaning bank(s).
It was suggested that the county increase its annual payment from
$45,000 per year to $50,000 to cover the shortfall, Ruben said.
"We made a commitment of $45,000, and that stretches our budget
as far as it can be extended," he said.
The county is borrowing $900,000 that is scheduled to be paid
back over a 20-year period. Twenty years is the maximum loan time
the county can participate in.
Finance committee member Terry Werth said, "We'll do everything
possible to work with the city. Let's just take a look at it to see
if there is anything we can do at all."
In another financial matter, the board tentatively approved
$5,115 for Main Street Lincoln. The sum is the accumulation of
monthly payments that continued to be made after the beginning of
the fiscal year but were not supposed to be made. Due to tight times
the payments were not included in the 2004-2005 budget.
A lack of communication at the county level and a change in
directors in the Main Street office led to the oversight. In the
interest of not putting undue stress on Main Street and because
their work is appreciated, the county is not asking for the funds
back.
