Rogers County Pays Off Bond Early, Decreases Sales Tax

In October, Rogers County residents will see a slight decrease on their purchase receipts.

"Here in Claremore, the sales tax with that third of a penny is 9.33-percent, now that will drop to 9-percent," said County Commissioner Ron Burrows.

In 2012, Rogers County started paying off a 25-year bond for more than $50 million.

Ron Burrows said thanks to a hopping economy, they were able to shave off some time and money.

"So they looked at it and sure enough with the favorable economy, that bond was refinanced and 10 years was cut off from it right away. So instead of 2037, it was 2027," he said.

The county commissioners said refinancing the bond in 2017 allowed them to help save taxpayers over $10 million in interest.

"Our goal was how do we rectify that and get it paid off as quickly as possible and recognizing the economy really was the key," Burrows said.

The Rogers County commissioners are excited to see the sales tax drop, even if it's just small bit.

"Rarely do taxes go down and here's an opportunity where we paid this debt off early and so now that third of a penny will drop," said Burrows.

Even though the county paid off the bond effective August 1, the lower sales tax rate won't kick in until October 1.

The Oklahoma Tax Commission will send those two month's worth of extra sales tax funds back the county.