Now that North Carolina voters have approved the $740 million of general obligation bonds placed on the ballot Nov. 2, state officials have begun the process of determining just when the state will start bringing the debt to market.
Everett Chalk, assistant director at North Carolina's debt oversight agency, the Local Government Commission, said the state will probably stick to its original schedule of borrowing roughly equal amounts over a three-year period.
But Chalk said that the single most important component of planning probably will be to determine the construction needs of the University of North Carolina, for which voters approved $310 million of GOs.
Felix Joyner, the university's vice president of finance, said last Friday that identification of those building needs has been speeded up by his request that all campuses provide him with information on their capital plans by the end of the month.
After he compiles this information, Joyner said. he can then discuss the university system's capital funding requirements with Local Government Commission staff members and state Treasurer Harlan Boyles. who oversees the commission.
Joyner said he would "not be surprised' to see the first of the authorization sold in early 1994.
In addition to signing off on the state university system bonds, North Carolina's voters this month approved $250 million of GOs for community colleges. $145 million for clean water projects, and $35 million state parks.
