Douglas County Becomes Debt-Free

DOUGLASVILLE, GA — You can call Douglas "the Debt-Free County."

On the same day commissioners voted to roll back property tax rates, county leaders burned the note on the county jail Tuesday, signaling that the last of the county's debts has been paid off.

"Douglas County now has no short-term or long-term debt, an accomplishment few -- if any -- other Georgia counties can claim," the county said in a news release.

The debt service on the new Adult Detention and Law Enforcement Center was paid in full on August 1.

Sheriff Phil Miller joined commissioners for a ceremony to burn the note on the jail following Tuesday's commission meeting.

Bonds on the $115 million project, which was funded primarily by a special-purpose, local option sales tax approved by voters in 2009, were issued in 2011.

The final payment, made Monday, was just over $19.8 million.

Also Tuesday, county commissioners voted to roll back the county's property tax rate.

The new rate is 11.267 mills -- down .542 mills from last year.

The millage rate is the amount per $1,000 that is used to calculate taxes on a property's taxable value. A higher rate means higher taxes and a lower rate means lower ones.

Of course, if the value of an individual property has risen, the owner could still end up paying more in taxes on it. The county estimates that the tax-rate rollback will slightly more than offset rising property values and that there will be a .16 percent decrease in total net taxes assessed in the county.

Photo courtesy Douglas County Sheriff's Office