Goose Creek Debt Free in 2012

By Sept. 1, the City of Goose Creek will make the final payment on the Goose Creek Recreation Center, leaving only one loan before the city is essentially debt free.

The city took out the $5 million rec center loan in 2002 and wasn't expected to post the last payment until June 2012. Paying off the loan early will save the city $14,411.

The loan was set up through tax increment financing: which allows a municipality to borrow money off of projected increases in tax revenue. That allowed the city to borrow the money without a tax increase. The city used similar financing to fund the construction of the municipal center.

The only debt left on the city's books will be the Crowfield Golf and Country Club, purchased in 2003 for $2.5 million. The course has struggled toward profitability, but it will be much easier after the city pays off the loan in 2012.

City Administrator Dennis Harmon said debt-free municipalities are few and far between.

When a resident asked Mayor Mike Heitzler how long the city would wait before borrowing again, the mayor didn't hesitate. "For a long time," he said. "We're not going to be taking on debt in the near future."