An overflow crowd at the East Cobb Senior Center heard Mike Boyce defend his proposed fiscal year 2019 budget of $453 million that would result in a Cobb tax increase.
The Cobb commission chairman’s goal, as he asserted several times during a nearly 90-minute town hall meeting Monday night, is to return to a “level, sustainable millage rate” the county enjoyed before the recession.
He said his proposed increase of 1.7 mills as part of revised budget from an original proposed hike of 1.1 mills, would generate $50 million in additional revenue per year.
Not only would that solve the projected $30 million budget deficit for FY 2019, but it would also replenish reserve funding commissioners have used in recent years to avoid a tax hike.
Several weeks after possible closures of libraries, parks and other “desired” services were made public, Boyce denied threatening to close any of those facilities.
But he said if his fellow commissioners couldn’t agree at least to an extra 1.1 mills, “we will close things. But that’s up to the commissioners.”
After urging citizens to communicate with their commissioners about ensuring those services with a tax increase, there was vigorous applause in the room.
Many citizens were wearing stickers in support of Cobb libraries. Others came on behalf of parks, recreation centers and The Art Place, located next door to the senior center and included on a draft list of options for closure.
Others were opposed to any tax increase, including Lance Lamberton of the Cobb Taxpayers Association, who brought a sign saying “Cut Waste.”
Monday’s meeting was the first of several Boyce is holding through early July, before commissioners are to adopt the budget by the end of next month.
He prefaced his remarks with charts predicting Cobb’s budget shortfall in 2014, with significant rising costs anticipated for the county pension fund, a pay increase for roughly half of county employees and public safety needs.
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In public statements, Boyce has noted for several weeks how Cobb’s millage rate has decreased steadily since 1990, even though the county population has risen dramatically, from 450,000 then to more than 750,000 today.
After a 1.51 mills increase in 2011 during the recession, the general fund millage rate went down, again, including a decrease in 2016, right before Boyce defeated then-chairman Tim Lee in a runoff.
Currently, it’s 6.76 mills.
Last year, commissioners spent nearly $20 million in reserves to balance a $405 million general fund budget, leaving only $2.6 million on hand now.
“We simply need to buy things we haven’t bought,” Boyce said.
His revised budget would fund an additional 23 police officers, and provide body cameras for all officers as part of a public safety budget increase of $15 million.
Citizens peppered Boyce with questions about their tax bills, county funding for the Braves stadium and more. While some wondered if what he was proposing was enough, especially about public safety, others didn’t like hearing Boyce adamantly defend raising taxes.
When Ellen Smith (pictured above), an attorney who occasionally argues zoning cases in front of the commissioners, suggested an increase of 3 mills, in part to fully fund the county’s animal services, some citizens loudly grumbled and yelled out, “ask a question!”
When another citizen asked Boyce if he would “be back here next year” should his budget and tax demands not be sufficient, he said that “I don’t know what the future brings.
“But I don’t want to be back here next year.”
Boyce’s final town hall is back in East Cobb on July 9, at the Sewell Mill Library and Cultural Center at 7 p.m.
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