The Bowdon City Council voted Thursday in a special meeting to approve a $100,000 tax-anticipation loan following a delay in state tax funds.

Council members approved borrowing $100,000 from Branch Banking & Trust at an interest rate of 2.92 percent. City officials said BB&T offered the lowest rate of the several area banks that were contacted.

Bowdon City Manager Jimmy Meigs said the loan was needed because the state has not been issuing sales tax checks in a timely fashion this year. The state sends the checks to the county, which then disperses the money to the cities.

“We will borrow the amount until the taxes come in,” Meigs said. “This should be between now and Dec. 18. We have until Dec. 31 to pay the loan amount off.”

City Clerk Stacy Folds said the money from the loan will be used to cover routine municipal expenses such as salaries, utilities and day-to-day costs.

Meigs said the move to approve the loan is not unusual — especially in the current economic climate. The last time the city council approved the issuance of a tax-anticipation note was in 2005.

“The state is slowed in getting the funds out, and we are expecting the taxes to come in slowly this year,” he said. “The economy has slowed every thing down.”

Councilwoman Betty Smith said the city has taken measures when the 2009/2010 budget was approved to operate on reduced funds.

“We’ve tightened the budget and are working with a more conservative budget with the economy,” she said.