The Butler County commissioners Wednesday approved the opening of an escrow account to partially repay 2006 borrowing.

The county will use nearly $4 million saved over two years from this year’s refinancing of a 2004 bond to reduce the principal on a 2006 bond.

Originally worth $9.2 million, the 2006 bond is estimated to be down to $6.2 million by July 2016.

Anthony Ditka, the managing partner of the Pittsburgh office of Dinsmore & Shohl, the county’s bond counsel, said using the $3.1 million saved this fiscal year and the $811,000 from next year due to a revised repayment schedule is a prudent move.

“You’re using this money in an extremely efficient way,” Ditka said.

County Controller Ben Holland agreed.

“It will place Butler County one step closer to being debt free,” Holland said.

He said an elimination of debt should lead to a property tax reduction.

Although county Commissioner Jim Eckstein supported the creation of the escrow account to pay down the 2006 bond in two years, he again criticized the way the 2004 borrowing was refinanced.

Eckstein said that refinancing resulted in the escrow account being the only way to proceed.

“We’re backing up to cover our rear ends here,” he said.

Eckstein said it’s misleading to state any money should have been freed up in the first place.

“I wouldn’t be patting ourselves on the back for this,” he said.

Eckstein maintains the county should not have set a repayment schedule that drastically reduced the 2014 and 2015 payments.

The refinancing lowers the 2014 payment to $199,346 and the 2015 payment to $3.4 million. The county’s 2016 payment will be $4.2 million.

Eckstein wanted lower payments over the term of the bond. Holland previously made similar comments.

Commissioner Bill McCarrier, board chairman, refuted Eckstein’s remarks, saying it’s too soon to know whether the refinancing was done the best way until 2016, when that year’s interest rates are set.

Eckstein pointed out the benefit was theoretical.

“You show me the math,” he said.

According to the bond sale document from the refinancing of the 2004 borrowing, the county will save more than $6 million over the life of that bond, which ends in 2026.

The interest rate was cut roughly in half from 4.24 percent to 2.3 percent.

The 2004 bond was originally worth $45.6 million.