Swain County Manager Tommy Dills at a Sept. 1 commission meeting proposed the county purchase 67 Lakeview Drive, colloquially known as the airport property, for nearly $3 million. No tax increase would be necessary, he said, to finance the transaction. Commissioners appeared unanimously onboard with Dills’ recommendation.
But the chosen route of payment — an installment contract from North Shore settlement fund interest — appears less sound given the fund’s consistently waning spending power and the prior finance officer’s failure to secure a surety bond, both of which could indicate debt servicing that risks the county’s long-term financial stability.
Explaining that “no other property currently available in Swain County offers the same combination of location, relief, size, and accessibility as this property,” Dills said he didn’t opt for a bond issue because $3 million “exceeds the amount that can be prudently raised from currently available appropriations, unappropriated fund balances and non-voted bonds within a two-thirds constitutional limitation.”
