By Stan Welch
For the last decade or so, Anderson County has been involved in an aggressive building program that has seen sewer lines installed and a number of libraries built, along with other projects. It has also seen the County burdened with a heavy level of bonded indebtedness. Millions of dollars in debt service are spent each year. $4 million was spent in principal payments this year. But some relief is in sight.
There are three general obligation bonds which will expire within the next eighteen months, beginning with a $2.5 million bond that was used to fund construction at the County Sports Complex, and an $8 million bond used to fund the Belton Library and the County Detention Center.
Those two bonds will expire on April 1, 2012. The past policy of reissuing such bonds for new projects is unlikely to continue in the current financial climate. County administrator Rusty Burns stated “There are no concrete plans for any further projects at this time. Anything to come under consideration in the future would have to be a very significant need and have the support of the Council.”
In April of 2013, the $13.7 million bond issued to build the main Anderson County library will expire as well, with another $7.3 million for the Pendleton and Powdersville libraries scheduled to expire in April of 2015.
The total reduction in bonded indebtedness by April 2015 will be $33.5 million. That figure is the general obligation bond debt.
