St. Mary's Commissioners Want $53 Million in Debt Authority



County Times Newspapers

HOLLYWOOD, Md. (Nov. 17, 2016)—The Commissioners of St. Mary's County were considering as much as $60 million worth of capital construction projects, for which it would likely be necessary to go into more debt, but reduced their plans to ask state law makers for the authority to borrow $53 million.

Any expansion of debt authority will have to be approved by legislators in Annapolis this coming session.

Commissioner Todd Morgan said the object of the budget work session Tuesday was simply to bring the request to the county delegation at their joint meeting Dec. 9 to discuss legislative proposals.

"We're only looking for the authority the borrow the money," Morgan said in a Wednesday interview. "We're not borrowing any money."

Morgan said that a full capital construction program for fiscal 2018, including the new Leonardtown library, senior center and jail expansion as well as the continued build out of FDR Boulevard, were all projects under consideration.

"This will cover expected costs of those projects through 2020," Morgan said. "If we don't get the extra debt capacity these new projects may not go forward."

Commissioner Mike Hewitt said he believed the county could cut about $20 million from that authority request and push the completion of FDR Boulevard out several years to ensure that the library and senior center were completed "sooner rather than later."

He said that it would take the county longer to complete FDR Boulevard than had been estimated and he did not want to borrow money that had to wait to be spent.

"I don't think we need that amount [$53 million] right now," Hewitt said Wednesday. "It's about debt affordability.

"I don't want to borrow money until we're ready to build."

For more local news stories, visit the County Times newspapers online at ct.somd.com

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