Dickson City looks for line of credit

Reckoning with hundreds of thousands in unpaid bills and what they call necessary capital projects, council members in Dickson City plan to take out a line of credit at a specially scheduled meeting tonight.

Council President Barbara Mecca would not provide specifics on the amount of the loan they were considering, but said she met with the borough’s solicitor Friday and Monday in order to review financing option.

At a council meeting earlier this month, Mrs. Mecca and other majority council members posted many of the bills on the walls of council chambers, and scheduled a meeting for tonight in order to present a new budget.

As of Monday afternoon, a copy of the budget was not available, but Mrs. Mecca said that major changes included a boost in funds for the Department of Public Works and several capital projects, which will be funded by the loan.

The borough building’s roof is leaking, she said, the police department needs two cruisers, DPW needs three dump trucks, and the civic center and fire department need a new floor.

“It’s just total disrepair,” Mrs. Mecca said, terming all the projects “must-dos.”

Meanwhile, unpaid bills total more than $300,000 said Chief Clerk Kenneth Novack, but added he was confident that everything would be “back on track” by the end of the year.

Mrs. Mecca insisted that council had no plans to raise taxes.

“No,” Council Vice President Paul Kwiec agreed when asked if he thought they would need to raise taxes. “Why should the whole town have to suffer for something that four people did?”

He refers to the former council majority, which lost power in November. Three of the former majority, Peter Novajosky, Robert Wiltshire and Anthony Gallis, remain on council and say the financial picture is not as dire as Mrs. Mecca and Mr. Kwiec would have people believe.

What are people saying about mortgages today:

Rates on 30-year mortgages edged down last week to a seven-month low. Mortgage-giant Freddie Mac reported Thursday that 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages fell to 6.3 percent, down slightly from 6.31 percent two weeks ago. It put rates at the lowest level since they were at 6.24 percent the first week of March.

Bank of Hawaii, Central Pacific Bank, Territorial Savings Bank and Wells Fargo Home Mortgages all cut their 30-year mortgage rates to 5.75 percent this week.

Most people think of a mortgage as a means to an end. After all, you buy a house, not a home loan. But a mortgage is much more than the path to homeownership. It is a financial instrument that must be managed, just like any other financial investment.