In November, Northampton County Council approved an emergency ordinance authorizing the County to borrow as much as $50 million so that the County can continue providing human services during the state budget crisis. Fiscal Director Jim Hunter quickly cemented a line of credit with Lafayette Bank at under two percent, but he just might avoid having to tap into it.
At their January 7 meeting, Hunter told Council that the County finished the year with about $3 million available. But to meet a $3.7 million payroll, as well as $2.6 million in accounts payable, he expected that he would have to start borrowing that Wednesday. But on Tuesday, money from the state began to trickle in.That trickle became a cascade on Wednesday, with $14.5 million from the state in just two days.
The state never sent word that the money was on its way. It just was suddenly there.
Whether this continues is anyone's guess. But as Hunter told Council, "The note is in place if we need it."
No comments:
Post a Comment
You own views are appreciated, especially if they differ from mine. But remember, commenting is a privilege, not a right. I will delete personal attacks or off-topic remarks at my discretion. Comments that play into the tribalism that has consumed this nation will be declined. So will comments alleging voter fraud unless backed up by concrete evidence. If you attack someone personally, I expect you to identify yourself. I will delete criticisms of my comment policy, vulgarities, cut-and-paste jobs from other sources and any suggestion of violence towards anyone. I will also delete sweeping generalizations about mainstream parties or ideologies, i.e. identity politics. My decisions on these matters are made on a case by case basis, and may be affected by my mood that day, my access to the blog at the time the comment was made or other information that isn’t readily apparent.