PETERSBURG, Va. (AP) - The cash-strapped city of Petersburg needs new firetrucks and police vehicles, but it’s having a hard time finding a loan.
City spokesman Clay Hamner told WRIC-TV (https://bit.ly/2otfyBk ) this week that the city’s poor bond rating has left it unable to get a traditional loan from a bank. So now they are turning to private investors, at a likely hefty interest rate.
Hamner says officials plan to take the offers received to the City Council in May.
The station reports Petersburg needs roughly $2.8 million for the purchase.
Petersburg Mayor Sam Parham says he knows citizens are frustrated by their tax money going to pay off high interest rates. But he says it has to be done to keep the city’s public safety up to par.
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