After two hours of feisty, and at times acrimonious and partisan debate, the Burlington City Council early Tuesday morning scuttled a $61.65 million refinancing proposal for Burlington Telecom.

Mayor Bob Kiss came to the council with a resolution offering to repay any money BT borrowed from the cash pool since October 1 within 60 days, while at the same time seeking council approval to work with financier Piper Jaffray to fully develop a refinancing deal to keep BT afloat and help it complete its buildout.

A complete deal, he said, would come back to the council sometime in mid- to late January for final approval.

In October, the council asked the administration to come back to it with refinancing options, and financing strategies, no later than November 16. Kiss, and Chief Administrative Officer Jonathan Leopold, said the proposal with Piper Jaffray was in response to that request.

Of course, no one said the council would approve what the administration proposed. The council also felt as if the administration was unfairly pushing the council to make a rush decision without giving it enough information.