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Dodge County considers bond financing through new Public Facilities Authority for courthouse project
Summary
At a Sept. 15 work session, the Dodge County Board reviewed using a newly created Building and Public Facilities Authority to issue bonds for a proposed courthouse. Bond counsel outlined options to place bonds in public markets or directly with a bank and said counsel will ensure tax-exempt structuring under Georgia law; no vote was taken.
Dodge County Board of Commissioners members met on Sept. 15, 2025, at a work session to review options for funding a planned courthouse project, focusing on issuing bonds through the county’s newly created Building and Public Facilities Authority (PFA). The meeting, held at the Dodge County Pearl Bates Courthouse Annex, was called to order by Chairman Dan McCranie at 5:00 p.m.
County Manager Conner Bearden introduced Stephen G. Swinson, bond counsel with Gray Pannel & Woodward LLP, who described the PFA as the likely issuer of bonds for the courthouse project. Swinson said the PFA would issue the debt while the county would remain the obligor, responsible for debt-service payments under an intergovernmental contract between the PFA and the county.
Swinson outlined two principal placement options: issuing the bonds in the public markets or placing them directly with a bank. He said the project’s size and the county’s desired terms would determine whether the county engages a financial advisor or underwriter to seek lenders and bond buyers. Swinson summarized the legal role of bond counsel as structuring the financing to be exempt from federal income tax and ensuring compliance with Georgia law.
The commissioners in attendance included Chairman Dan McCranie, Sharon Cobb Flanagan (District 1), Leigh Ann Greene (District 2) and Vice-Chair Brian Watkins (District 3); Commissioner Jeffrey Jones (District 4) attended remotely. County attorneys John Harrington and Ron Daniels, County Manager Conner Bearden, County Clerk Kimberly Smith-Parkerson and bond counsel Swinson were also present.
No formal motion or vote on financing was taken during the session. The board discussed scheduling another work session to continue the funding conversation and agreed to consider Oct. 15 as a follow-up date. The session adjourned at 5:24 p.m.
The board’s next steps include deciding whether to activate the PFA, selecting a financing structure (public issuance or direct placement), and determining whether to hire a financial advisor or underwriter; those decisions were not made at the Sept. 15 meeting.
