Washington County will enter into a loan agreement for up to $10.5 million for the purchase of emergency communication equipment.

At Tuesday’s board of supervisors meeting, a unanimous decision was made to enter into an agreement and issue general obligation emergency services communications bonds. Michael Hart with Northland Securities explained the first thing the supervisors need to do is decide what to raise the property tax levy to in the next fiscal year since they are currently setting the budget. He also reminded them that the bond is only for equipment, not for a building to house it. He explained the current levy is 63 cents per $1,000. Hart presented example scenarios and if the county decides on an eight-year timeline to pay off the debt the levy could increase to about $1.37. Another option would be for it to be spread out over 12 years with the levy going up to 97 cents, but there’d be greater interest paid. However, exact figures will not be known until the quotes for the equipment are presented later this spring.