With their proposed budget for next year ready for approval, Douglas County commissioners are taking a month off.

At their meeting Monday morning, commissioners scheduled a public hearing at 6:35 p.m. Aug. 21 to review the proposed $44 million operating budget for 2003.

The budget includes a tax rate of 27.826 mills, down 0.59 mill from this year. A mill is $1 in taxes for every $1,000 of a property’s valuation.

The owner of a $150,000 house would pay $480 in county property taxes for next year, $1 less than the bill for this year. The budget includes money for hiring three more emergency dispatchers, three more firefighter/paramedics and a city-county planner.

“I’m glad it’s done,” Commissioner Charles Jones said.

Because of vacations and other commitments, commissioners do not intend to reconvene for official business until next month’s budget hearing, to be conducted at the County Courthouse, 1100 Mass.

Commissioners agreed to allow a single commissioner to approve payment of county bills each week.

The county pays each commissioner $18,833 a year for their service, regardless of how many meetings they attend or conduct.