Junior lien funds collected, earning interest

Funds needed to pay the principal on a junior lien debt have been collected and placed in certificates of deposit, according to Haskell County officials.
A $450,000 junior lien note was taken out by the county in 2015, in order to help make the debt payments owed on the county jail, according to officials. The county received $408,000 of that amount. The remaining $42,000 was not made available to the county and remains in the bank account.
Since then, the county has been paying approximately $24,000 annually in interest payments, and began setting aside funds for the principal amount approximately two and a half years ago.
County officials have budgeted $93,600 annually and agreed to withdraw $7,800 monthly from the quarter cent sales tax during the past two fiscal years, according to Sandra Zachry, Haskell County’s District 2 commissioner.
On Dec. 1, commissioners approved the withdrawal of an additional $48,400 from the quarter-cent sales tax, which provided the county with the full amount needed to pay the principal on the debt.
The funds been placed in certificates of deposit and will earn interest until April 1, 2024 when the payment of the principal is due, according to Zachry.

By Anita Reding, staff reporter