With a finance audit of Miami's books finally finished, the city said it will prepare to go to market by the end of May to sell $75 million in bonds to build the parking sites for the Florida Marlins' new ballpark in Little Havana.

The bond issue was pushed back a couple weeks because of extra scrutiny of Miami's finances triggered by a Securities and Exchange Commission investigation.

Miami hoped to begin construction by May 1, and that's still possible.

The reason: Commissioners on Thursday agreed to borrow $3 million from a capital fund account to get a jump-start on construction.

City Manager Carlos Migoya had originally asked for $4 million, but commissioners leery of past transfer problems from the city's capital accounts decided against using the extra $1 million, which would have come from a variety of sources, including Convention Development Tax dollars.

The $3 million the city will use comes from Sunshine State loan funds that are not currently directed at any projects. Migoya said it will be paid back as soon as the bond sale takes place. ``I don't want to fall into the trap of what the previous administration did with the bundling of money,'' Commission Chairman Marc Sarnoff said of the commission's decision to use only the Sunshine State money.

The Marlins hope to begin play at the new ballpark on Opening Day in April 2012. Estimates of building the almost 6,000 parking sites -- garages and surface lots -- that will surround the new stadium range from 18-24 months. That means Miami will have to scramble to meet the deadline.

Auditor McGladrey & Pullen and Miami's finance department finished the audit of the city's 2009 budget late Wednesday, clearing the way for the bond issue. The audit underwent two extra reviews required by the SEC examination, factoring in the delay in issuing the bonds.