MONROE — Union County has plans for almost $600 million in new construction over the next six years and commissioners are unsure how to pay for it.

“It’s like anything else,” Union County Board of Commissioners Chairman Lanny Openshaw said. “You have to decide if you are going to buy a new big-screen TV or make a car payment. You can only do what you can afford to do.”

Of the $590 million in requested projects, $355 million is for Union County Public Schools and $25 million is for South Piedmont Community College. These figures do not include a $260 bond referendum passed by voters in 2006 that came with tax-increase stipulations. Openshaw reminded the board that it was supposed to increase taxes by 2.76 cents this past year, but cut the budget in other areas to offset the debt.

County Finance Director Kai Nelson laid out capital projects that have already been requested through 2015. Some come with other sources of funding, but those cover only about $17 million, leaving the rest to come from the county budget.

Union has been the fastest growing county in the state, with a confirmed population of about 191,000 last summer and an estimated current population of more than 200,000, according the U.S. Census Bureau.

Openshaw has long said that growth does not pay for itself through property taxes on homes, pointing to debt incurred for new schools as a prime example.

“The reality is we are unique, because we are the fastest-growing county which means we have the fastest-growing school system which means we have the fastest-growing debt,” Openshaw said.

Nelson presented a six-year outlook so commissioners could get a better grip on what expenditures are coming. He likened the meeting to putting on high beams while driving at night to see what lies ahead.

The meeting Thursday morning was cut short because Commissioners Allan Baucom and Kim Rogers had to leave early and Commissioner Parker Mills could not attend. Openshaw said it was more of an “information gathering” meeting anyway. The full board will reconvene at 9 a.m. Monday, at which point decisions to guide future spending could be made.

Commissioners have already discussed setting a policy that would cap tax increases relating to bond referendums at 4 cents per year. Other tax policies will come up Monday.

The meeting will be in the training room of the Union County Government Center, 500 Main St.