The Burbank City Council is considering a $2-million loan to the cash-strapped Debell Golf Course after Mayor Jess Talamantes called the municipally owned course “too big to fail.”

Also on the table is suspending the golf course’s payments to the city on $2.1 million in outstanding debt, and combining the two loans for repayment by 2016, according to the Burbank Leader.

The loan would be more than the $566,878 in proposed budget cuts to the fire department, libraries and other public services. The loan would cover past debts and create a reserve that would earn interest, officials said. The council is scheduled to make a final decision next week after some on the panel voiced initial support for the proposal.

“As far as I’m concerned, there’s a jewel up there that’s too big to fail in my opinion,” Talamantes said during a May 26 budget hearing.

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-- Gretchen Meier, Times Community News

Photo: DeBell Golf Clubhouse. Credit: Times Community News file