LITTLE ROCK — Little Rock will issue its first short-term loan since 2008 after city directors approved the $4.6 million debt Tuesday for new firetrucks, trash trucks and dump trucks.
For the better part of the past decade, Little Rock City Hall has used short-term loans to buy big-ticket items such as police cars. But the practice stopped in 2009 because the city couldn’t afford any new debt.
The city can now afford the debt because several years of loans have been paid off since the last one was issued.
With several firetrucks well past their life cycles, “it’s critical we move forward,” Fire Chief Greg Summers told city directors after it appeared that the loan initially didn’t have enough votes to pass Tuesday night.
City Director Joan Adcock said she needed more time to study a memorandum on the city’s existing short-term debt before she could support moving the ordinance along for a final vote.
“I want time to look at this and get my questions answered,” she said about the notice given to them at the start of the meeting. She has also been critical of the city going into debt, saying recently she would prefer the city save up until it could afford to buy the trucks.
With two other city directors absent Tuesday, there weren’t enough votes for the loan to go forward in one night. The only alternative was to read the ordinance approving the loan at a future meeting, something City Manager Bruce Moore said would complicate the purchase of the large vehicles.
The city expects to buy three new firetrucks for a price determined by a state bid that expires at the end of the year, he said. The cost of the trucks would go up 3 percent in January.
Moore said the need for six new garbage trucks also was great — about 11 trucks are down on any given day.
“I don’t have a plan if this is not successful on when we could come back,” Moore told city directors, saying that the new sales-tax revenue expected next year was not earmarked for replacing old firetrucks. The city had committed to using some of the new tax dollars to equip new fire stations, he said.
“I can assure you, the needs of this city are a lot bigger than the $4.6 million,” he said.
After a 10-minute recess during which she talked with Moore and City Attorney Tom Carpenter, Adcock called for a new vote.
“This is what we need to do,” she said about the more extensive discussion that took place after her “no” vote. The public could get the wrong idea if they don’t see city directors fully discussing issues such as the loan before taking a vote, Adcock said.
“Taxpayers start wondering where is the accountability,” she said, adding that she thought the further comments from the fire chief and assistant Public Works Department director fleshed out the issue for her and residents watching the board meeting on television.
With Adcock’s support in hand, city directors quickly passed second and third readings of the ordinance, allowing the city to issue the debt before the end of the year.
Along with fire and garbage trucks, the city will buy two street sweepers and two dump trucks that can be used as snowplows. The street department also will buy a new grinder for the landfill and a storm-drain cleaning truck.
After including this new debt, Little Rock will have issued more than $46 million in short-term debt since 2002 when state law first allowed the practice. The loans must be repaid within five years.
Also Tuesday, city directors approved some last-minute 2011 budget changes. More than a dozen budget adjustments were necessary to recognize lower-than-anticipated sales-tax collections and changes in fuel budgets. The city had enough jobs empty to offset the shortfalls and did not need to cut operation budgets as city officials have had to do several times in recent years.
City directors will take on the 2012 budget at 4 p.m. next Tuesday at City Hall. They had expected to discuss it Tuesday night, but Moore and others were still finalizing details.
Arkansas, Pages 11 on 11/16/2011