CoCos talk more about nixing bond projects

So it's very likely that the Guilford County Commissioners may put the fix on all those countywide bond projects that are planned, from the schools to the Sheriff and everything else in between.

And it presents a quandary, of sorts.

The school bonds were passed back in the spring with much fanfare. We covered it at length here on GSW (see the "old archives" for all of the coverage). They were passed to deal with an aging system, to deal with aging buildings and increasing enrollment.

Fast-forward to today, where previously-project enrollment is down, the governor is asking for his money back, the county may soon ask for their money back...and what about the state of all of those projects now?

The Skip-and-Billy show (a.k.a. chairman Skip Alston and Commissioner Billy Yow) convened recently with top county heads to discuss what the future may be.

N&R:

Commissioners hope to decrease the bond amounts sold on Jan. 13 from the $232 million first planned, which could help the bonds sell more easily. And they hope to avoid a property tax rate increase to pay for those bonds. The increase could raise a 2009 tax bill by $100 on a $200,000 home .

"People are being laid off, and people are losing their jobs, and people are being shut down," Alston said. "We want them to know that we feel their pain and we're asking you all to absorb some of that pain."

The general obligation bonds, which voters authorized to raise $651.4 million, are traditionally sold with ease to build municipal projects. But the nation's recent financial crisis has some people leery about selling the first hunk of bonds.

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The schools will still get some money, but will that "wish list" be revised to deal with the economic emergency?

More from the article:

Friday's meeting included Guilford County Schools Superintendent Maurice "Mo" Green , school board Chairman Alan Duncan , Guilford County Sheriff BJ Barnes and Don Cameron , president of GTCC, among others.

Guilford County Schools should receive about $100 million from the January sale.

Duncan first defended the effort to sell the full bond package.

"I think you know we have contractors here and elsewhere who are extremely hungry for work, and you're going to get the best possible bid prices you can get if you move forward on projects," Duncan said.

All three groups plan to meet with the commissioners again by Christmas with a revised figure.

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Chances are good that there may be a discussion of this during Wednesday's lunch-time work session, which kicks off at 11:30am at Central Office.

E.C. :)