BATON ROUGE — The state Bond Commission voted unanimously Wednesday to let the new city of St. George borrow up to $1 million so it can cover expenses until tax revenue starts rolling in.

The municipality — approved by voters in 2019 and the state Supreme Court this year — is in line to receive up to $50 million annually in sales tax revenue, but not until after a December vote by residents in the southeastern portion of East Baton Rouge Parish. 

The Bond Commission said Wednesday that St. George can borrow the money at an interest rate no higher than 6.5 percent. The city has said it has lined up a loan with Hancock Whitney Bank, but would only draw money as it was needed.

"It'll be the first money we have the opportunity to receive as a city," interim Mayor Dustin Yates said. He said the money would be used in a way so St. George could "start to do some of the things that the city's going to need to do to get it started and get going."

St. George is operating under a provisional government appointed by Gov. Jeff Landry until its officers and council members can be elected by the people. It has not yet laid out plans for how most municipal services will be provided, though it has said the sheriff's office will handle law enforcement under a St. George chief of police.

"So many people have worked tirelessly to get to this point and so it's great to see the support from the bond commission so that we can move forward," Rep. Emily Chenevert (R, Baton Rouge) said.

The city likely has more than 100,000 residents, making it Louisiana's fifth-largest city. The area had 86,000 people at the time of the 2019 vote and has grown significantly.

At a meeting on Wednesday, St. George's officials said that they plan to meet with East Baton Rouge Parish two to three times a week while the transition is underway.

"This is a transition period that's going on right now in the formation of the city. And we had had some of that money set aside for two years in a row here in the state government, but because of the holdup in the court, that time had passed," Sen. Rick Edmonds (R, Baton Rouge) said.