Debt financing is neither a “bad” nor a “good”—it is simply a tool for achieving community goals.

However, debt does come at the price of costs of issuance and interest charges, as well as the obligation to make regular loan payments and conform to market disclosure and terms of the debt instruments on an ongoing basis.

Allowing these payments to become a dominant part of
the agency’s budget limits the agency’s ability to respond to unplanned expenses.

For more information, including questions to ask about an agency’s debt practices, see information at right.