The Coweta

County Commission saved the taxpayers nearly $3 million this week.

At a called

meeting Monday, the board voted to pay off all outstanding certificates

of participation on the Coweta County Jail.

The COPS were

issued in 1993 to refinance 1990 COPS, which had been issued to pay for

the construction and equipping of the jail facility.

Construction

of the new jail had been ordered by court action.

Debt remaining

as of Dec. 1 totals $8.39 million.

An existing

debt service fund of $391,067 will be subtracted from the total, resulting

in a final cash outlay of $7.99 million to retire the COPS.

Members of

the Board of Commissioners said paying off the debt was a good piece of

financial business for the county, saving the citizens $2.5 million in

interest payments over the remaining term of the debt.

Finance director

Rick Smoot said it was sound management practices put in place by the

board that created the financial stability needed to allow the early payoff.

Smoot added

that, in addition to the county's strong financial status, the recent

downturn in interest rates and the fact that there are no penalties at

this time for early payoff make this an ideal time for this action to

be taken.

In other actions:

Meeting as

the Coweta County Airport Authority, the board voted to approve application

for a state Department of Transportation contract to cover the cost of

a retaining wall needed for the runway expansion project currently under

construction at the Newnan-Coweta County Airport.