In sharpening his fiscal year 2020 budget proposal he’ll take around the county starting this spring, Cobb Commission Chairman Mike Boyce said Tuesday that he’s adamant he won’t be asking for a tax increase.
He also wants to give all county employees a pay raise, open all library branches on Sunday, begin drawing down the amount of money transferred from Cobb water system revenues and eliminate senior fees that were imposed during a contentious budget process in 2018.
And how to pay for all this without raising taxes?
“The county is on fire,” Boyce told East Cobb News Tuesday afternoon after addressing the East Cobb Business Association monthly luncheon at the Olde Towne Athletic Club.
That was a reference to a growing tax digest—2018 was a record year for that, at $36.7 billion—and what he said was the beginning of restoring some county services that had been cut back since the recession.
In order to do that, however, Boyce got an increase of 1.7 mills for the general fund, which pays for most county government expenses.
It was a grueling process, as he conducted a number of town hall meetings and got his $454 million general fund budget, but only by a 3-2 margin. His fellow East Cobb residents, commissioners Bob Ott and JoAnn Birrelll, voted against him.
But the additional funding closed what he said was a $30 million deficit and enabled the hiring of more police officers and road work crews, and the opening of regional libraries on Sunday.
His remarks were similar to those he made last week to the Cobb Chamber of Commerce. Boyce doesn’t have a formal budget proposal yet, and some details—such as how big an employee pay raise may be—also haven’t been included.
But he said he’s confident growth in the tax digest in 2019 would enable the county to continue adding services without a millage hike.
“I made a promise last year that I wouldn’t do it [in 2020],” he said, adding that the county is still finding other budget savings.
He received applause for that sentiment, as well as expanding library hours, additional nature trail acquisitions and the purchase of greenspace (including part of the Tritt property next to East Cobb Park).
Boyce also outlined for the ECBA audience of around 100 members and guests a number of business developments, including development around SunTrust Park, which will open its third season as the Atlanta Braves home venue in April.
The stadium, partly financed by the county—and with an annual general fund cost of $8.6 million—has been the magnet for so much more than that. The Battery Atlanta mixed-use project developed by the Braves has become a year-round hub of commercial, retail, restaurant and entertainment activity that’s attracting more business growth.
“Forget the stadium, it’s The Battery that’s driving development,” Boyce said. “It’s sparked a halo effect in the Cumberland CID area and beyond.”
He also predicted that the county would begin recouping that $8.6 million budget investment “sooner than I thought,” but didn’t offer a prediction of when that might be.
Looking ahead to 2019, Boyce said transit and transportation issues will loom larger. The county conducted a transit survey that was released in December that indicated that nearly 60 percent of respondents would support a sales tax for new projects.
(Read the Cobb DOT Transit Survey Summary here).
Before any transit options are decided, there will be town hall meetings and a likely referendum in 2021.
As for the next Cobb budget, Boyce said a total of 16 town halls coming in March and April—including two a day in some cases—will seek taxpayer feedback as was done last year.
“I just want you to enjoy your life,” Boyce said. “Cobb is in as good a place as it’s ever been.”
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