Low-interest debris loan accepted by city

The Clarion-Ledger, 5/13/8

Jackson officials crowed Monday over the low interest rate the city will receive on a $6 million loan to pay the cost of clearing debris from last month’s damaging tornado.

But City Administrator Rick Hill said the city will have to cut spending in an already tight budget if hoped-for federal reimbursement does not come through.

“That would be real difficult to fit into the budget,” he said.

The City Council unanimously approved Regions Bank as the winning bidder for the debris loan. Regions beat out Trustmark National Bank and BancorpSouth with a 3.73 percent interest rate on the five-year loan. The loan will act as a line of credit, with the city drawing down only what it needs to complete the cleanup from the April 4 storm.