The moves, made possible by a council vote, meant Mr Harland could cover the "total amount of debt in relation to the stadium", finance and corporate support general manager Athol Stephens said, should the timing of payments for the stadium differ from the date they were expected.
Mr Stephens said no difficulties were expected, however.
The security provisions were something the council put in place every year to secure its loans.
"We're just making sure we're covered."
The decision did not get the approval of all councillors, with Cr Kate Wilson raising concerns the resolutions agreed to were "loose", and did not limit the spending of the money in any way.
Cr Richard Walls responded last night that that was not the case, as any spending had to be approved through the council's annual plan.
The issue came before a full council meeting yesterday, with a report from council financial planner Carolyn Howard.
It said loans were required for the council's expenditure needs for the Otago Settlers Museum, Dunedin Centre and water infrastructure upgrades, and the Forsyth Barr Stadium.
Asked about the issue of security after the meeting, Mr Stephens said it was similar to a home and land being used as security for a mortgage.
"In this case, we've given security as a charge in the form of a rate over the capital value of Dunedin City."
That would be used if the city defaulted in its repayments to Dunedin City Treasury, the council-owned company that provided loans.
Providing security in that way was something the council did annually, and Mr Stephens said there was no possibility it would ever need to be used.
"It won't happen."
On Mr Harland's authority to draw down loans of up to $149 million, Mr Stephens said that amount included the $110 million the council was borrowing for its input, and $30 million to cover private sector funding until payments were made.
If the university's payments for shared costs like resource consents and plan changes came in June, for instance, instead of May, Mr Harland would be able to draw down loans to cover what was needed.
That was not happening at this stage, though, with money from the university coming through as expected.
Ms Howard's report said money from the Otago Regional Council and the Community Trust of Otago was received in accordance with a schedule, but the timing of other funding "may be less certain".
That included $4.4 million from the university, and $2.8 million from the sale of surplus land.
If part or all of that money did not "materialise" by the end of June , "it is almost certain that additional debt will be required", she said.
At the meeting, Cr Wilson asked if the authority for extra borrowings should be decided at the time they were needed, and said she was concerned the council was exposing the city to extra costs if money did not arrive on time.
Mr Stephens told her organising authorisation later would make the process "messy".
Any extra costs would be minimal.
After the meeting, Cr Wilson said she was concerned few councillors understood what it was the voted for.
She and Cr Dave Cull voted against some of the resolutions that were approved.
