The Provo City Council voted last week to use the surplus in sales tax revenue to begin paying off the iProvo debt.

The vote rejected Mayor Lewis Billings' proposal to loan $1.2 million to iProvo's line of credit.

"You don't make something more successful by adding debt," Council Chairman George Stewart said.

The 5-1 vote to amend the mayor's budget came at the end of an active debate in which Mayor Billings accused Stewart of politicizing the iProvo project, as well as not wanting to make the iProvo project successful.

"It sure doesn't feel like we're behind [iProvo]," Billings said. "We need to set the politics aside."

Billings said Stewart misrepresented his proposal as taking out an additional loan when it is merely transferring money from the Department of Energy to the iProvo project.

Stewart responded his position was not political, but he was merely facing the facts of the situation.

"I don't know how you don't characterize this as a loan when it says that it must be repaid," Stewart said. "Somehow, we have to repay the energy fund."

The council's amendment will use the surplus in sales tax revenue to begin paying off the iProvo debt.

"Increasing the debt burden is not prudent," Stewart said. "My preference is strongly that we fund the deficit now."

Council member Steve Turley was the lone dissenting vote. Turley supported the loan proposal because he said it was not fair to use money from the general fund when the majority of residents do not use iProvo.

"I want to stay the course and repay later on," Turley said.

Tuesday night's vote was the council's first step in approving the mayor's fiscal year budget.

The council is expected to finalize the budget during the next council meeting on June 19.

Copyright Brigham Young University 11 Jun 2007