BETHEL – After Monday’s special town meeting, in which voters approved the expenditure of more than $400,000 to rebuild the banks of the Androscoggin River at Davis Park, selectmen authorized Town Manager Scott Cole to establish a line of credit up to $800,000.

Cole told residents at the special town meeting that “the town will probably go into a deficit in terms of cash on hand in the next month or two. That was likely to happen anyway, probably in a February or March time frame,” had the Davis Park project not been approved.

A cash-flow model for the town projects a deficit of more than $125,000 at the end of October. Tax bills, due Nov. 15, will put money back into the town’s funds, but “we go into deficit again in January,” Cole said. “By March, April we’re looking at a $290,000 deficit. $600,000 in April.” The town is expected to have a positive balance of almost $600,000 after taxes are paid in May.

Later, Cole told selectmen, “These are probably gloomier projections than what the reality will be.” He said he doesn’t expect that the town will need to borrow $800,000, but wants to be safe in case there are flaws in the assumptions behind the cash flow model.

Cole will ask three area banks for proposals for the loan. He anticipates paying 4 percent interest, and has budgeted $11,000 for interest payments. Any money borrowed will be paid back before the end of the fiscal year.

In other business, Cole asked that selectmen set a date for another special town meeting to address ordinance amendments, including reorganization of the Airport Authority. Cole proposed Dec. 13 as a possible date.

Selectman Reggie Brown said that decisions regarding the Airport Authority should be made at the regular town meeting. Given the amount of work put in by Airport Authority members, he said, “I’d just hate to see 15 or 20 people make that decision.”

Selectman Don Bennet felt that the Airport Authority ordinance needed to be amended before the next town meeting. “I understand the feeling of board members as to having it before a larger body,” he said. However, he noted that one member of the committee has written a letter to the editor stating that the committee is dysfunctional. “I guess I wonder if I want to subject the people who want to do business with the airport to a group that’s, by their own admission, having a problem doing business.”

Cole agreed to draft a rewording of ordinances to be discussed at the special town meeting for the board’s review at their next meeting. At that point, the board plans to set a date for the meeting. No decision was made regarding the Airport Authority.

Town Clerk Christen Mason reported that “we have been swamped with absentee ballots.” The town had received 138 ballots as of Monday. In 2000, Bethel received a total of 129 absentee ballots.