The oldest councillor at Wangaratta has questioned if now is the right time to be borrowing more than $18 million from the bank, including $1.5 million to spend on play equipment.
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Cr Ken Clarke was the only councillor to vote against the motion to approve the borrowings at this week's council meeting.
The new borrowings of $18,291,662 were included in the council's 2020-21 budget.
It was resolved this week to go through National Australia Bank for the initial $11,291,662, with a fixed term interest rate of not more than 2.7 per cent.
The council chose to split the borrowings into two separate drawdowns due to "the uncertain nature of economic conditions".
"I'm still concerned about the borrowings for this financial year and the repayments that we're going to have to make, just on this loan alone - it's a 10-year loan," Cr Clarke said.
"This council has tried to do a lot of capital works, but I think the time has come where we should be reducing our capital works program."
IN OTHER NEWS:
The money will fund the new developments of a $1.5 million "regional playspace" at Apex Park and the Mitchell Avenue Children's Garden, as well as being applied to works from previous years including the Cruse Street development, and improvements to the railway precinct and King George Gardens.
The playspace is intended to be somewhere for Wangaratta families and to attract visitors to the city.
But Cr Clarke said it could wait.
"I think the regional playspace is something that we've got to put $1 million towards and I think we should be spending that $1 million somewhere else," he said.
