Chief Pleas will decide on 8 April whether Sark will or won’t borrow £1.5million from Guernsey.
The loan has already been agreed in principle by both sides – with Guernsey’s Policy and Resources Committee getting backing from the States to lend the money last year.
If the money is borrowed it is intended to pay for Sark Electricity Limited, which Chief Pleas is trying to buy through compulsory purchase.
That is currently in the hands of Begbies Traynor, a court appointed valuer.
Guernsey’s States agreed the £1.5m loan to Sark to help Chief Pleas in its planned purchase of SEL in May 2025.
The plan is for Chief Pleas to use the money to buy the island’s power station and electricity infrastructure.
Sark will only borrow the money if Chief Pleas agrees at an Extraordinary Meeting on 8 April, after the island’s Conseillers have a chance to question Guernsey’s politicians about it next week.
Some Sark Conseillers and residents have already questioned the terms of the loan, and the logistics of repaying it – which will be spread over the next 20 years.
Sark has already agreed to take part in the Bailiwick Commission, and has started to reviews its tax policies, which were two criteria attached to the loan.
If Sark defaults on its repayments, Guernsey will withhold duties from alcohol and tobacco sales, that it collects on behalf of Sark, to cover the money.
Not all politicians in Sark have agreed though, with a failed Motion of No Confidence in Policy and Finance bringing some issues to the surface last year.
The owner of SEL has also opposed its compulsory purchase by Chief Pleas, and has previously criticised the planned loan from the States of Guernsey to Sark to pay for it.