During Tuesday morning's regular meeting, City Council took three further steps toward construction of the Statesboro Fire Department's planned $4.8 million Station 3, including arrangements for a Sept. 3 "public sale" of the Brannen Street site to the Georgia Municipal Association.

Statesboro city officials are turning to the GMA, a nonprofit corporation supported by city governments, as a conduit for tax-exempt financing. The ultimate funding source will be the city's share of the countywide Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax. But to move forward with construction this year, the city will need to borrow money.

To issue tax-exempt bonds on its own, the city would have needed to work through a special local finance authority, which it doesn't have in place for this project.

"In this

See Full Page