The Marion County Law Enforcement Center has now been paid off.
County Treasurer Gary Purcell told the Marion County Board Tuesday night money owed on the bonds that financed the jail that opened in 2002 have been retired. He also reported as a result of smaller payments in the final two years of the bonds, the county already has $970,401 in the bank available for other public safety projects.
A quarter-cent sales tax that paid off the bonds can remain in place provided the proceeds are used for public safety-related needs. Purcell says the fund will grow quickly, with the county collecting about $60,000 a year through the tax.
The payoff of the jail comes as repair and renovation projects totaling several million dollars are about to get underway, mostly through money the county has received for COVID-19 relief.
