FARMVILLE — Mayor David E. Whitus has hailed the Town’s efforts to reduce its debt.

Reacting to the five-year debt comparison report he’d requested, the mayor told town council, “there’s about a 20 percent reduction in debt from 2010 to 2014.”

The Town had $21,253,865 in outstanding debt in 2010. The amount was reduced to $16,915,000 last year.

“And the per capita was really interesting,” Mayor Whitus continued. “The per capita debt was about $2,500 per person and it went down to just under $2,000 per person. So it’s worthy of noting, the debt reduction over the last five years.”

The mayor followed up his remarks to council by telling The Herald, “I was impressed. You hear, I hear a lot—have heard a lot over the years—about people being concerned about the amount of debt the Town has…and I think that is an absolute substantial, noteworthy reduction in our debt.”

Additional reduction is anticipated next month.

“We make payments, I believe, in October, so after October there ought to be another pretty substantial reduction in that debt,” he said.

Nor does he believe the Town has been adding a great deal to its debt while paying it down.
“We haven’t bought any major things in the last few years. I think once we got past the golf course there’s not been any major purchases by the Town,” he observed.

Mayor Whitus is looking forward to cutting the 2010 debt figure by more than half.

“I will feel really good,” he said, “when we get that debt down under 10 million.”