From the South Bend Tribune:
The city is still in the research phase, but Mayor Dave Wood said the city aims to pay off its debt by June 2014. That would lower property taxes because the city would no longer have a bond rate, he said.
“As far back as we can find, we’ve always been in debt,” Wood said.
City controller Yvonne Milligan said Mishawaka’s general and parks debt now adds up to about $7 million. This doesn’t include the debt of Mishawaka Utilities, which wouldn’t be part of this effort. Nor does it include the debt for tax incremental financing, which the city expects to pay off by 2014, Wood said.
The idea is to budget conservatively each year so that there’s enough money left at the end of each year to pay off debts, Milligan said.
Wood said it helps that the city has its own bond bank, which saves on fees and interest paid to outside institutions.
http://www.southbendtribune.com/news/sbt-mishawaka-aims-to-pay-off-debt-20120925,0,7408971.story
