East Moline took out a short-term loan to pay for its part of a major development project, now it's going to re-finance that debt to save money. Monday night the city council approved borrowing 12 million dollars over 15 years.
City Administrator Doug Maxeiner says originally East Moline took out a short-term loan at five per cent interest to pay for streets, water, and lights at The Bend which is in a tax increment financing district.
The long-term "replacement" loan will cost about 2.5 per cent.
"It was out of convenience we got the short-term loan to facilitate those improvements very quickly. We knew that the increment coming from The Bend would take a few years to develop and now it's starting to roll in. So now we can structure this in a long-term debt and pledge that revenue from the TIF increment to repay those."
The Bend, on the former site of a combine plant next to the Mississippi River in East Moline, now includes a Hyatt Hotel, restaurant, outdoor stage, and apartments that are under construction.
