The Cobb Board of Commissioners on Tuesday voted to extend a moratorium on considering new data center applications for another six months.
The existing moratorium was set to expire later this month, and at a work session last week, commissioners were briefed on forthcoming ordinances to address the issue.
An item on Tuesday’s meeting agenda states that the Cobb County Code enacted in 1972 “gives no consideration for this more modern land use.
“Today, data centers are most similar to a private utility or a warehouse use, both of which are permitted by right in Cobb County in the light industrial (LI) and heavy industrial (HI) zoning districts.”
No data centers have been formally proposed in unincorporated Cobb, but local governments around the nation are issuing moratoria as they grapple with a fast-moving issue that has galvanized community and political opposition.
The Marietta moratorium does not apply to the former, a proposal by Prime Storage to convert a portion of a storage facility on Powers Ferry Place for what the applicant said is for “mission critical” local purposes.
The Marietta City Council held that case, which is scheduled to be reconsidered on Wednesday. There has been no proposal for a data center on the Bells Ferry Road site.
Cobb Community Development Agency officials have not given a timetable for bringing proposed code amendments for data centers, but the moratorium extension expires on Feb. 24, 2027.
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The Cobb County School District accused Cobb County Government of a “money grab” over tax collection fees.
Cobb County Government said Monday that a mediation meeting last week with the Cobb County School District to resolve a lawsuit over tax collection fees came to an impasse.
In an unsigned statement, the county said that after the July 31 meeting, and noting that it “mediated in good faith, a resolution was not reached.”
The statement didn’t detail the reasons, and the case continues in Cobb Superior Court. The county statement added added only that “our responsibility is to protect the taxpayers of Cobb County and maintain the level of services that they have come to expect.”
On June 30, Cobb Superior Court Judge Julie Jacobs ordered the parties to appear before Judge Stephen Schuster in a mediation hearing, according to court filings.
The county was sued in Cobb Superior Court on June 15 by the Cobb school district, which alleged that the county has improperly billed the district more than $130 million in administrative fees over the last 15 years to collect school taxes that are then turned over to the school district.
The lawsuit (you can read it here) claims that the county unlawfully raised the collection fee amount from 1.6 percent to 2.5 percent of what it collects for the school district, both in property taxes and the Special-Purpose Local-Option Sales Taxes (SPLOST) for education.
The school district claims a state law, Local Act 240, should prevail. That states that all education funds since 2011 should be directed to the school district without any fees.
The total the county is charging the Cobb school district for tax collections for fiscal year 2027—which began on July 1—is $20 million.
John Floresta, Chief Strategy and Accountability Officer for the Cobb school district, issued the following statement when asked for a response about the mediation meeting by East Cobb News.
“Whether it’s $13 million or $20 million, and whether it’s called a tax on top of taxes or a “fee,” taking even one dollar that taxpayers intended for students doesn’t work for our Board or our Superintendent. This week, our teachers and staff welcomed students back to school, and our focus remains where it belongs—on educating children. That same focus drives this lawsuit. Our teachers already serve students at one of the lowest per-pupil costs in the metro area, and we’re committed to protecting the taxpayer dollars intended for their classrooms. This lawsuit says enough is enough.”
Cobb government has contended that current Georgia law allows for the 2.5 percent collection fee, and “that, due to no current local legislation setting the commission rate lower, the commission rate should be 2.5 percent.”
The county’s actions, the district said in its initial release, constitute “a money-grab, from classrooms, for absolutely no reason, other than the presumed hope of ending the senior school tax exemption or forcing a tax increase on Cobb homeowners.”
On July 17, the Cobb school district filed a motion for a partial summary judgment; a mediation notice was filed on July 20 setting the July 31 date.
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“There is too much that is not critical that we need to cut back on,” Commissioner JoAnn Birrell said.
In following a trend in recent years, the Cobb Board of Commissioners on Tuesday adopted a fiscal year 2027 budget along a party-line vote.
In a 3-2 split, with the Democrats voting in favor and the Republicans opposed, commissioners signed off on a $1.4 billion spending package to start on Oct. 1 that represents a six-percent increase from the current budget.
Although the property tax rates are staying the same, the new budget constitutes a tax increase because the millage rate wasn’t “rolled back” to current spending levels.
The county will be spending $84 million more than the fiscal year 2026 budget, with the major increases water and sewer capital expenses, the creation of a stormwater utility fee, additional employee salaries and benefits and higher costs for employee benefits as well as healthcare and workers compensation claims.
During long public hearings on Tuesday, commissioners heard from citizens who were mostly opposed to the increases, although a few spoke in favor.
Those opposed cited inflation and higher costs for household budget items and the closures of businesses in East Cobb due to rising rents.
The Republican commissioners said while they supported most of the budget items, there are some county departments that regularly overspend.
“We want to be thrifty with taxpayers’ money and I get that,” said Commissioner JoAnn Birrell of District 3 in East Cobb, who is facing a re-election challenge in November from Democrat Kevin Redmon.
“But there’s too much that isn’t critical now that we need to cut back on.”
While Birrell wasn’t specific in her remarks, she also said she couldn’t support rolling back the millage rates. The general fund rate is staying at 8.46 mills and the Fire Fund rate is holding at 2.97 mills.
She said that in 2018, commissioners voted to cut the millage rate, “and the following year we had a $20 million shortfall.”
Democratic Commissioner Erick Allen said that “while there are a lot of wins in this budget,” he wants to improve the public process for considering the budget.
Among them are to “stop putting staff in an awkward position of defending commissioner priorities” and to improve the messaging to the citizens about how the process works.
“This budget has done a good job” meeting the needs of the public in the next year, Allen said, but “I will continue to push for a better process.”
Most of the new salaries in the general fund would come in the water and sewer department, which also includes stormwater services.
The budget also proposes reducing the amount of water revenues to the general fund from 4 percent to 3 percent.
The proposed budget also recommends adding seven calendar clerks in Cobb Superior Court, a part-time position in the Cobb Medical Examiner’s Office, three veterinarian/technician positions in Cobb Animal Services and two positions in the procurement area for the countywide disparity study.
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With a six-month moratorium on considering data centers set to expire in August, the Cobb Board of Commissioners will be getting an update on the subject next week.
An agenda item for a work session Tuesday says it will be to “present information” from the Cobb Community Development Agency.
The agenda item doesn’t state a recommended course of action, and East Cobb News contacted Cobb County government Friday to see if a moratorium extension may be proposed.
Spokeswoman Shelly Wiedner said in response that according Jessica Guinn, the community development agency director, her office and the Cobb Economic Development Agency “are planning to bring the extension forth as an agenda item at the August 11 BOC meeting. I’m sure she will discuss it further at the work session on Tuesday.”
The agenda item (you can read it here) notes the current issues involving data centers, especially over energy and water consumption and the potential impacts on local infrastructures.
The item states that the Cobb zoning code adopted in 1972 “gives no consideration for this more modern land use. Today, data centers are most similar to a private utility or a warehouse use, both of which are permitted by right in Cobb County” in two industrial zones.
There’s a new use for that created in the proposed Cobb Unified Development Code, which “also proposes regulations specific to data centers that would mitigate the impact of data centers on surrounding properties, as well as on infrastructure, power and water resources.”
The Cobb moratorium is set to expire just as the City of Marietta imposed a six-month moratorium while delaying a data center request on Delk Road at Interstate 75.
There have been no data center proposals in unincorporated Cobb. But in her agenda item, Guinn said that “these facilities, particularly large-scale campus type developments, can impact local infrastructure and utilities significantly. Specifically, the power and water supply demands present a strain to local resources.
“Furthermore, these facilities can present negative impacts to nearby properties, including noise pollution and air quality impacts resulting from cooling systems and backup generators, as well as undesirable aesthetic impacts if the facilities are not visually screened properly.”
Other local governments in metro Atlanta have been issuing shorter moratoria, including a new 30-day pause in Cherokee County.
The work session Tuesday also will include an update on the American Rescue Plan Act and “information and updates regarding housing in Cobb County.” An agenda item for the latter states only that “Community Development will present information on programs and initiatives that the Board of Commissioners could consider regarding housing.”
The work session begins at 1:30 p.m. in the second floor board room of the county office building at 100 Cherokee Street, Marietta.
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A bill to name a Veterans Administration clinic after the late Cobb Commission Chairman Mike Boyce has passed the U.S. House.
The bill (H.R. 5362) is sponsored by Republican U.S. Rep. Barry Loudermilk, whose 11th Congressional District includes East Cobb.
It would rename the clinic on 1263 Cobb Parkway North, just north of Bells Ferry Road) to the Colonel Michael H. Boyce Department of Veterans Affairs Multispecialty Clinic.
Boyce, who lived in East Cobb and was was chairman from 2017-2020 and died in 2022, was a longtime officer in the U.S. Marine Corps.
The renaming bill passed the House by 418-0 vote and moves to the U.S. Senate for consideration.
Loudermilk, an Air Force veteran who is retiring from Congress this year, issued the following statement:
“My good friend and well-respected community leader, Colonel Mike H. Boyce, spent much of his life in service to his community, state, and nation. Through his service as an officer in the U.S. Marine Corps and later in elected office as the Chairman of the Cobb County Board of Commissioners, Mike was a tireless advocate for the health and welfare of our active duty servicemembers and our veterans.
“Mike worked to ensure our servicemembers had the tools to succeed and was instrumental in establishing the Cobb County VA Clinic, which remains a vital resource for those who served our country honorably.
“Recognizing Colonel Boyce through this legislation is a fitting tribute to an American hero whose service and advocacy inspired so many, and I greatly appreciate his wife, Judy, for working to continue his incredible legacy.”
More reaction from local elected and business officials can be found by clicking here.
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Cobb Commission Chairwoman Lisa Cupid will be holding a town hall meeting at the East Cobb Library next week.
It’s part of what she is calling her “All In Town Halls” to get public feedback on the county budget, “data centers, proposed code amendments, and other county initiatives.”
The town hall at the East Cobb Library (4880 Lower Roswell Road, at the Parkaire Landing Shopping Center) takes place on Wednesday, July 22 from 7-8:30 p.m.
The proposed Cobb fiscal year 2027 budget will be adopted later this month, and the county also is pondering an extension of a moratorium on considering data centers that expires in August.
Cupid has been holding “All In Sessions” throughout the county, including the four districts on the Cobb Board of Commissioners.
The others are Wednesday at the Tommy Nobis Center (240 Interstate North Parkway), and July 23 at the Milford Recreation Center (675 Smyrna Powder Springs Road).
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A Canton Road massage business that was closed by Cobb County government in 2024 over allegations of improper operations is appealing a denial of a health spa permit.
Top Massage will be presenting its appeal Tuesday before the Cobb Board of Commissioners after the Cobb County License Review Board upheld the denial.
The Board of Commissioners is the last avenue of appeal in such cases, and the hearing will take place at the end of Tuesday’s regularly scheduled meeting.
Businesses in unincorporated Cobb that offer massage services must obtain a special health spa permit from the county. Massage therapists also must be certified by the state.
In May, the Cobb Business License Division turned down Top Massage’s application for a health spa permit, saying that Xingtong Meng, the licensee, didn’t disclose previous employment at a Cartersville massage business that reportedly advertised “illicit sexual services,” and that Meng “did not honestly disclose his arrest history.”
According to a denial letter included in an agenda for Top Massage’s appeal, Meng was arrested by Duluth Police in August 2025 for a failure to appear on traffic citations.
The county said in the health spa application that Meng indicated he had not been arrested, “which is not truthful.”
Cobb officials also allege that Meng did not disclose that he was the “likely” licensee of an Acworth massage business that the county closed down and that also wasn’t disclosed in the application for Top Massage.
The county’s denial letter also states that Top Massage employee Haixing Jin is a state-licensed massage therapist, “his license is currently on probation.”
The Business License Division sent an investigator to Vivi Massage of Cartersville, where Meng worked, and found employees there apparently living there but who did not have state massage licenses. The business was later closed due to cooking activity on-site.
The county’s denial letter states that Meng confessed to Cobb officials he was untruthful about his arrest in Duluth. The letter also states that Meng doesn’t personally know Yunji Jin, the Top Massage owner and the father of Haixing Jing, but that he is a flight instructor wanting to make some extra income as a spa licensee.
Meng told county officials he was asked to serve as the Top Massage licensee due to Haixing Jing’s probationary status.
When Cobb commissioners upheld the Top Massage closure in October 2024, they weren’t sympathetic to pleas from the business’ former owner, Zhe Han, to rectify issues over licenses and permits.
“These cases we don’t take lightly,” Commissioner JoAnn said in moving to extend the Top Massage license suspension. “There’s no excuse not to know the law and our code.”
The Cobb commissioners meeeting begins at 9 a.m. Tuesday in the second floor board room of the county office building at 100 Cherokee Street, Marietta.
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The Cobb County Board of Commissioners announces its intention to increase the property taxes it will levy this year, over the rollback millage rate, by 4.07 percent in the County Maintenance & Operations (General) Fund.
Each year, the Board of Tax Assessors is required by Georgia law to review the assessed value for property tax purposes of taxable property in the county. When the trend of prices on properties that have recently sold in the county indicate that there has been an increase or decrease in the fair market value of any specific property, the board of tax assessors is required by law to revalue such property and adjust the assessment. This is called a reassessment.
When the total digest of taxable property is prepared, Georgia law requires that a “rollback” millage rate must be computed according to specific instructions issued by the Georgia Department of Revenue. This “rollback” millage rate would have produced the same total tax revenue on the current year’s digest that last year’s millage rate would have produced had no reassessments occurred.
The 2026 proposed millage is higher than the recently computed “rollback” millage rate. Therefore, before the Cobb County Board of Commissioners may set the final 2026 millage rates, Georgia law requires that three public hearings be held to allow the public an opportunity to express their opinions on the increase.
The Cobb County Board of Commissioners (BOC) is proposing to maintain millage rates. The General Fund M&O will be set at 8.46; the Fire millage rate will be set at 2.97; and the Cumberland Special Services District II millage rate will be set at 2.45. Although these millage rates are not increasing from the prior year, Georgia law requires the County to advertise a “Tax Increase” in the press and on the County’s website because the tax digest has increased.
All eligible property owners who have claimed the homestead exemption for the 2026 tax year will see no change in their County M&O tax bill, as long as the property owner made no changes to the property that affect its taxable value. The floating homestead exemption maintains the net taxable value of the primary residence. When the millage rate remains unchanged from the prior year, the assessed tax for County M&O also remains unchanged.
All citizens are invited to the public hearings on this tax increase to be held at the Board of Commissioners meeting room located at 100 Cherokee Street, Marietta, Georgia on Tuesday, July 14, 2026, at 9:00 AM, Tuesday, July 21, 2026, at 6:30 PM and on Tuesday, July 28, 2026, at 7:00 PM.
The Board of Commissioners will adopt the 2026 Property Tax Millage Rates for its three tax districts (General, Fire, and Cumberland Special Services District II) following the third public hearing at the BOC Meeting on Tuesday, July 28, 2026, at 7:00 PM.
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The next in a series of community meetings about Cobb County’s 2050 Comprehensive Plan update will take place next week in East Cobb.
The meeting takes place on Tuesday, July 7, from 6:30-7:30 p.m. at the Tim D. Lee Center (3332 Sandy Plains Road).
The 2050 Comprehensive Plan is a long-range planning document that incorporates such issues as land use, transportation, housing and economic development, typically with a 20-year window.
Under Georgia law, counties are required to update their plans accordingly and hold public engagement meetings.
In Cobb, those sessions began earlier in June (you can watch a video of the opening meeting at the bottom of this post) and are held in each of the four Board of Commissioners districts, as well as on a countywide basis.
Citizens also can complete an online survey to provide feedback on the plan, which must be formally updated by October 2027.
Here’s more general information about the Cobb 2050 Comprehensive Plan, with breakouts here about the update’s timeline, the Cobb community profile and other documents and resources.
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The Cobb Board of Commissioners voted Tuesday to place on the November ballot a referendum to extend the Special-Purpose Local-Option Sales Tax starting in 2028.
The vote was 4-0, with Chairwoman Lisa Cupid absent.
Cobb voters will vote by Nov. 4 whether or not to renew the one-percent tax for another six years.
The 2028 SPLOST would continue collections for a variety of projects, including roads and transportation, public safety facilities, parks and libraries upgrades and maintenance and more.
The estimated collection for the 2028 SPLOST would be $1.15 billion, with $794 million going to Cobb government projects.
The project list was approved by commissioners in April, and includes a $20 million relocation of the East Cobb Library from Parkaire Landing Shopping Center to an unspecified site.
County officials said in January they would like to rebuild the East Cobb branch, the second-busiest in the Cobb system, on county-owned land.
Cobb has leased space for the East Cobb Library at Parkaire since 2010, after the branch previously was located at Merchants Walk Shopping Center.
The rental cost has been nearly $400,000 a year, and library officials say they need more space. The East Cobb Library has 17,000 square feet of space, and a request for the proposed new branch called for 28,000 square feet.
But before adopting the referendum resolution Tuesday night, commissioners approved a late change capping capacity at the current 17,000 square feet.
Another East Cobb project on the 2028 referendum list is an $8.2 million expansion of the Tim D. Lee Senior Center.
The 2028 SPLOST also would fund a new Cobb State Court building to cost $174 million; $130 million in road resurfacing projects; and $60 million for a new infirmary building at the Cobb County Adult Detention Center.
Another $30 million would be earmarked for a central aquatic center in Marietta to replace the current facility near the Cobb Civic Center; $30 million combined for two new fire stations in West Cobb and South Cobb; and $18 million for a new recreation center at a site to be named in South Cobb.
Among the transportation projects in East Cobb, $3.5 million would go for an intersection project on Shallowford at McPherson Road; $2.5 million each for improvements in the Johnson Ferry Road corridor and the Shaw Road corridor; and $1.5 million to upgrade the intersection of Lower Roswell Road at Paper Mill Road.
For a detailed list of the 2028 SPLOST referendum project list, click here.
For more on the 2028 SPLOST in general, click here.
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The Cobb Board of Commissioners on Tuesday was presented a fiscal year 2027 budget proposal that would add 29 new positions to county government and keep the same property tax rates.
The budget would come to $1.4 billion, an increase of $84 million over the fiscal year 2026 budget of $1.325 billion.
The primary increases proposed are for water and sewer capital expenses, the creation of a stormwater utility fee, additional employee salaries and benefits and higher costs for employee benefits as well as healthcare and workers compensation claims.
You can read through the budget presentation by clicking here, or view the same information on the slideshow on the bottom of this post. You can also watch a replay of the work session below.
During a work session Tuesday afternoon, Cobb chief financial officer Buddy Tesar said that 20 of the new positions proposed would be funded through the general fund, and nine more in the fire fund.
Most of the new salaries in the general fund would come in the water and sewer department, which also includes stormwater services.
The budget also proposes reducing the amount of water revenues to the general fund from 4 percent to 3 percent.
The general fund is the primary source of revenue for Cobb government, paid through property taxes. The general fund rate of 8.46 mills would be unchanged.
Under the fiscal 2027 proposal, general fund revenues would rise by $29 million, from $646 million to $672 million.
The fire fund rate of 2.97 mills also would stay the same, with expenses proposed to rise from $160 million to $166 million.
Expenditures for claims and liability would go up from $128 million in the current budget to $139 million.
The water and sewer fund would rise from $286 million to $307 million.
The presentation was brief—commissioners didn’t have questions, and Chairwoman Lisa Cupid was absent—with a basic breakdown of spending and revenue categories and what Tesar called “high-level” summaries of major line items of interest.
He also outlined “budget impact items” totaling $7.6 million that commissioners will be asked to approve for the current fiscal year 2026 budget.
Those include $4.5 million for a new medical provider contract with the Cobb Sheriff’s Office for inmate health care at the Cobb County Adult Detention Center, and $2 million in increases in step and grade compensation tiers for the Cobb Police Department.
The proposed budget also recommends adding seven calendar clerks in Cobb Superior Court, a part-time position in the Cobb Medical Examiner’s Office, three veterinarian/technician positions in Cobb Animal Services and two positions in the procurement area for the countywide disparity study.
Tesar said the position requests for Cobb Fire are “currently being discussed with Commissioners.”
The budget also requests $500,000 to expand on-demand transit services through CobbLinc.
Since the proposed millage rates would not “roll back” to meet current budget totals, Georgia state law considers that a property tax increase, and Cobb must hold three public hearings on the budget.
They will take place on July 14 at 9 a.m., July 21 at 6:30 p.m. and on July 28 at 7 p.m., shortly before budget adoption.
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The registration deadline for the 2026 Cobb 101 Citizens Government Academy is July 4.
Cobb 101 is an 11-week program offering citizens a chance to learn in-depth about the functions and departments of Cobb County Government.
Participants will visit facilities, talk to leaders and learn how their tax dollars are spent.
The 2026 Cobb 101 program will start in August and participation is limited to 32 people. The weekly sessions will take place on Thursdays from 6-9 p.m.
Here are more details about the program:
Through a combination of presentations and hands-on projects, participants will learn about vital community services including emergency services, law enforcement, planning, zoning, finance, court systems, public works, special projects, parks and recreation. Most importantly, participants will have the opportunity to connect with their local officials and county staff who provide these services. Weekly instructors will vary depending upon the county service or department being covered that week.
The program is structured around six strategic commitments:
Informed and engaged community
Financial health and economic prosperity
Healthy, livable and sustainable Cobb County
Transportation, mobility and connectivity
Safe and prepared community
Accountable and responsive government
Participants will gain a better understanding of:
The relationships between residents, the county manager and Board of Commissioners and governmental departments
The process of deciding why and how government projects are implemented and services are provided
The ways various projects support county manager and Board of Commissioners’ goals and objectives
The budgeting process
Roles and functions of county departments
To learn more about the Cobb 101 Citizens Government Academy, click here. To apply, click here.
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The Cobb Board of Commissioners on Tuesday will be formally presented the fiscal year 2027 budget proposal during a work session.
That evening, they will be asked to adopt a resolution establishing a referendum in November to extend the Special-Purpose Local-Option Sales Tax starting in 2028.
Commissioners will be holding two public hearings in July on the budget proposal, following Tuesday’s presentation.
In late April, county officials presented requests from department heads for 322 new full-time positions, 278 within the general fund, totaling $1.5 billion in spending.
That’s $157 million more than the current fiscal year 2026 budget of $1.3 billion, but those requests are unlikely to be reflected in the proposed budget.
Commissioners last year added only four new positions after being asked to create nearly 300 more jobs.
“The County does not have the resources to support all the requests presented, nor is the County considering funding all the requests,” Cobb chief financial officer Buddy Tesar noted in the April summary.
Most of the additional staff requests are from the Cobb Sheriff’s Office, public safety, courts and the Cobb District Attorney’s Office.
Last year commissioners held the millage rate for the general fund and slightly lowered it for the fire fund. The Cobb Tax Assessor’s Office is projecting digest growth of 4 percent for 2026.
Two public hearings on the budget are required, and have been scheduled for July 14 at 9 a.m. and on July 28 at 7 p.m., shortly before adoption.
You can find more Cobb budget information at this link.
At the Tuesday evening meeting, commissioners will be asked to pass a resolution scheduling the November SPLOST referendum (agenda item here).
The one-percent sales tax, if approved by Cobb voters, would raise $1.15 billion for a variety of construction and maintenance projects in Cobb and municipal governments over a six-year period, starting on Jan. 1, 2028.
Of that total, nearly $800 million would be for Cobb county government projects, including a relocated East Cobb Library branch, expanding the Tim D. Lee Senior Center, building a new Cobb State Court building, spending $130 million in road repaving projects and earmarking $60 million for a new infirmary building at the Cobb County Adult Detention Center.
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The Cobb County School District on Tuesday said it has filed a lawsuit against Cobb County government for what it calls “a money-grab” over administrative fees levied to collect property and sales taxes for schools.
Cobb board of educcation vice chairman David Chastain
In a press release issued Tuesday morning, the district said that over the last 15 years, it has been billed more than $130 million in administrative fees to collect property taxes that are then turned over to the school district.
This year, that total is $13 million, and the district claimed in the release for fiscal year 2027—which begins on July 1—the county is charging the district $20 million.
That’s due to an increase in what the county charges the school district in those collection fees, from 1.6 percent to 2.5 percent of the total taxes collected—from property taxes and Special-Purpose Local-Option Sales Taxes (SPLOST).
“This lawsuit is about the hundreds of teachers and thousands of students who would be affected. Every Cobb homeowner, business owner, parent, grandparent, and student benefits from a strong public education,” Cobb Board of Education vice chairman David Chastain of Post 4 in Northeast Cobb said in the district release.
“The Commission is trying to take millions of dollars from our classrooms for a tax increase, disguised as ‘administrative fees.’ Cobb’s parents want smaller class sizes, not more ‘fees.’ ”
The district’s press release—which didn’t state an author’s name—alleges that the county is guilty of “a money-grab, from classrooms, for absolutely no reason, other than the presumed hope of ending the senior school tax exemption or forcing a tax increase on Cobb homeowners. Both of which are strongly opposed by the District.”
The lawsuit, which was filed in Cobb Superior Court, named Cobb County and Cobb Tax Commissioner Carla Jackson as defendants. (You can read the lawsuit by clicking here.)
But the ire of the district’s statements, and claims in the lawsuit, are aimed at the Cobb Board of Commissioners.
“The collection fee is both unreasonable and unlawful. No reasonable person would believe the County incurs over $20,000,000 in annual expenses just to collect school taxes,” the district lawsuit states.
“And more importantly, the County lacks legal authority to charge the collection fee in the first instance.”
The lawsuit states that a 2011 Georgia law, Local Act 240, requires a county tax commissioner “to remit all educational taxes collected to the Cobb County Board of Education without charging a collection fee.
“But the County has unilaterally decided that Local Act 240 is invalid and has refused to comply with its mandate.”
Cobb Commission Chairwoman Lisa Cupid
The lawsuit further states that Cobb improperly adopted a home rule ordinance from 2011-2021 to circumvent the new law and “unlawfully” charged the school district a 1.6 percent collection fee, even after that provision expired.
Since then, the lawsuit alleges, the school district’s fees have increased from $9.4 million in fiscal 2022 to the present $13 million.
“Despite receiving more than $130,000,000 in collection fees since 2011, the County remains unsatisfied,” the lawsuit states.
A discussion between the school district and the county over the fees was to have taken place in February, with the county seeking an increase in the tax-collection fee to 2.5 percent, according to the lawsuit.
But the the lawsuit said that Cobb Commission Chairwoman Lisa Cupid, who asked for the meeting with school district leaders, tabled that discussion, saying it was premature, and no further talks were held on the subject.
On May 29, the lawsuit states, Cupid sent a letter to Cobb superintendent Chris Ragsdale and school board chairman Randy Scamihorn saying that Cobb would be imposing a 2.5 percent collection fee for school taxes, starting on July 1.
In that letter, which is included in the school district’s legal findings (you can read it here), Cupid wrote that there “is no valid legal local legislation designating a commission rate for the collection of school taxes. Without such local legislation, the state law rate of 2.5 percent is applicable.”
Cupid concluded her letter by saying that “there has been no further discussion on this issue since the February meeting and, as Cobb County enters its budget process, it is appropriate to make the change.”
The district’s lawsuit states that “over the next five years, the proposed increase would allow the Board of Commissioners to charge over $100,000,000 in fees for collecting school taxes.”
Cobb government spokeswoman Shelly Weidner told East Cobb News that county officials are reviewing the lawsuit with legal counsel and issued the following statement:
“The County’s position regarding the school tax collection commission was outlined in the May 29 letter provided to the School District and referenced in the lawsuit. This matter involves the interpretation and application of state law governing the collection of school taxes, and we believe it is appropriate for the courts to provide clarity on the issue.
“Because this matter is now pending litigation, we will have no further comment on the specifics of the case at this time.”
The Cobb school district said the $130 million sum it’s paid in property-tax collection fees since 2011 could go to fund the salaries and benefits of 130 teachers.
“Our bottom line is simple: Cobb’s students are already funded less than their peers in most neighboring counties,” the district statement said.
“We will protect the investment parents and grandparents have made to live and raise their families in Cobb.”
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“Focus on what the community needs,” State Rep. Gabriel Sanchez told the Marietta City Council Wednesday.
Dozens of citizens crowded Marietta City Hall Wednesday to demand that a year-old vote allowing a data center on Bells Ferry Road to be overturned.
A few days after announcing they would speak at a regular council meeting, the protesters repeated recent claims they’ve made about environmental and noise concerns related to data centers, as well as potential rises in electricity bills.
Their remarks came at the end of the meeting during a general public comment period but didn’t generate a response from Marietta elected officials.
There wasn’t an item on the meeting agenda about the data center, and in the days since the protest was announced, city officials have issued statements reiterating that there’s no data center project that’s in the works, nor is there any agreement with Marietta Power for electrical use.
But that didn’t deter citizens, many of them wearing similar matching colored shirts and holding up “No Data Center” signs.
Many are younger political activists, associated with the Democratic Socialists of America. A man wearing an ATL DSA shirt, Perry Barrett (at right), who lives near the land where the data center was zoned, held up sheets of paper indicating signatures on a petition.
He said he works and is struggling to pay for increased household costs “and I can’t afford to move.” He urged the city council to impose a moratorium on data centers until conducting an environmental impact study.
Cobb commissioners issued a six-month data center moratorium in February. Data centers have been the subject of increased opposition across the country in recent months as high tech giants build gigantic data centers for artificial intelligence projects.
State Rep. Gabriel Sanchez, a Democrat from Smyrna whose district includes a sliver of Marietta city limits, said there is a “big push by billionaire elites” to build AI data centers, which he called “something we don’t need. Focus on what the community needs.”
Sanchez, a Walton High School graduate who also is active with DSA, told city council members that “you should listen to your constituents and put something else on this land.”
Also speaking out against the data center is Sam Foster, a recent Kennesaw State University graduate who nearly toppled longtime Marietta Mayor Steve “Thunder” Tumlin in last year’s elections.
The data center issue has begun to take on some partisan dynamics as well. The Cobb County Democratic Committee is supporting the protests.
Michelle Schreiner (seen below), a Democrat who is challenging longtime Republican State Rep. Sharon Cooper of East Cobb in November, issued a statement on her campaign website, saying that “the Bells Ferry Road data center isn’t just a local issue. It’s part of a much larger conversation about AI, infrastructure, and Georgia’s future. These aren’t anti-technology questions. They’re governance questions.”
She also supports a temporary moratorium “on large-scale data center approvals.”
But what Marietta passed in June 2025 on its zoning calendar, after going through the usual public notice procedures, was a data center on a smaller scale.
The city noted in its message earlier this week that the original proposal would have allowed up to 100 megawatts of power, but that fell through.
“The most recent discussions have included much smaller power purchase amounts of 60MW or less; however, even those conversations have stalled,” the city message said.
“Due to the careful structure of any potential agreement, a data center at this property would not place strain on the electrical grid or negatively impact current customers.”
Tracy Stevenson of Marietta, who led the public commenters, said the facts don’t add up in the favor of the protesters.
He said he’s been vilified in taking issue with the data center opponents and has “even been misgendered, but none of that hurts my feelings.”
Stevenson said he’s not either for or against a data center in Marietta, but what was approved a year ago “isn’t about AI.
“There is no deal. We do not know what we do not know.”
A resident in the nearby Bells Ferry Road community, Diana Martin, said she was among those who didn’t know about a data center approval until it was recently brought to her attention.
She said she’s not involved in any political groups, but is worried about noise and pollution issues, and followed other speakers in mentioning possible political repercussions in the next election (Marietta’s next election is in 2027).
“You can make a decision to reverse this based on what the community wants,” Martin said.
“We do not know what we do not know” about a site for a data center in Marietta in which there is no active project, resident Tracy Stevenson said.
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The proposed data center land (in pink) covers nearly 30 acres on Bells Ferry Road at Interstate 75. OpenStreetMap
Citizens opposed to a new data center in the city of Marietta are planning to speak out on the issue at a Marietta City Council meeting this coming week.
Some had claimed that a public hearing was to have been held at the council’s regular meeting on Wednesday, but city officials said Friday that’s not the case.
“The City of Marietta is aware of misinformation being circulated regarding discussion of data centers,” the city announced over social media channels Friday afternoon.
“The City confirms there is NO town hall, public hearing, or item for Council discussion regarding data centers scheduled for the June 10, 2026 City Council meeting.”
There’s no mention of the data center on the council’s meeting agenda.
The city’s message was in response to information distributed on a website opposed to the data center with the URL StopCobbDataCenter.com and headlined “Not for Us—Cobb County.”
The site includes a message at the top indicating a public hearing before the Marietta City Council on June 10 (Wednesday), and asks that “we’re asking all attendees who support a permanent ban to wear red—speaking slots are limited, so a united visual presence is our strongest message.”
A Northeast Cobb resident contacted East Cobb News this week on the same matter, saying that she “just found out about the data center they’re planning to put up” and that “apparently there’s folks going to show up at a meeting of the Marietta City Council to have a say about this.”
But the caller’s concerns, as well as those from the “Not for Us—Cobb County” site are coming nearly a year too late.
In June 2025, the Marietta City Council unanimously proved a digital data center proposal on a 30-acre undeveloped tract following claims from prominent land-use attorney Kevin Moore that it would provide more than $70 million in tax revenue.
The data center would employ 40 people and house computer systems and servers and data and networking equipment.
While there was some community support expressed at the time, concerns also were raised over possible effects on nearby residential developments.
The more recent opposition comes as protests specifically against artificial intelligence data centers are growing around the country, citing electrical and water costs, as well as noise and environmental impacts.
A number of local governments in metro Atlanta have imposed temporary moratoria on data centers, including a six-month pause in unincorporated Cobb approved unanimously by commissioners in February.
Noted environmental activist Erin Brockovich also has joined efforts to oppose data centers and has begun an online map to track data centers across the country.
Her map includes the Bells Ferry Road property as a “community reported” site as of May 4. According to the map, such sites “show data submitted by concerned residents across the US about AI data centers.”
The concerned residents behind the “Not for Us—Cobb County” site are not identified. The site offers tips on how public speakers should express their opposition to the data center, including pointing out that no environmental impact study was conducted before the Marietta vote in 2025, and to contact their city council members.
“The developer has lawyers and $100M for a substation. You have the vote and the documented evidence,” according to the “Not for Us—Cobb County” site.
On the City of Marietta’s Facebook page, some citizens took exception to the city’s message about there not being a public hearing.
“There has been zero misinformation about it—public comment is open to non-agenda topics,” wrote one citizen.
“Surely you aren’t trying to discourage your constituents from attending a public council meeting, to speak with representatives who work for us? See you on Wednesday!,” commented another.
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The Cobb Tax Assessor’s Office on Friday sent out 2026 property tax assessments with a number of changes in the notices, due to a new state law.
The changes include a place for homeowners to notify their county tax commissioner if they’re no longer eligible for a homestead exemption, a new box including current and previous year’s fair market value and a new box listing the “estimated tax savings associated with the exemptions, credits, or preferential assessment programs” indicated in another part of the notice.
The changes were prompted by the passage this year in the Georgia legislature of SB 566, which was to make property tax assessment notices easier to understand (more details here and you can watch the video below).
Legislators have been responding in recent years to concerns from property owners over rising assessments.
Friday’s mailings by Cobb are notices of assessment only and not property tax bills—those will go out in August and will be due in October.
The Cobb Board of Commissioners will be holding budget sessions in July, after the fiscal year 2027 proposal is presented. They heard budget requests from department heads in April and a formal budget proposal is to be made on June 23.
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When he arrived as senior rabbi at East Cobb’s Congregation Etz Chaim in 2016, Daniel Dorsch had some very big shoes to fill.
He was called to succeed Rabbi Shalom Lewis, who started the county’s first Conservative synagogue in the early 1980s.
On Tuesday, Dorsch, a visible figure in the Cobb and metro Atlanta Jewish communities, was recognized by Cobb commissioner JoAnn Birrell for his decade at the helm.
“Alongside his wife, Amy, he has helped cultivate an inclusive and welcoming community grounded in meaningful Jewish experiences,” read the proclamation from Birrell at a Board of Commissioners meeting.
“Through his leadership, community outreach, and involvement in regional initiatives, Rabbi Dorsch has strengthened connections within the congregation and the broader Atlanta area, fostering spiritual growth, interfaith dialogue, and community engagement over the past decade.”
Dorsch, who came to Cobb from New Jersey, was joined by members of his synagogue to receive the honor.
“It’s very rare for a rabbi to be speechless,” quipped Dorsch, who started off Tuesday’s meeting with a lengthy invocation.
“I’m truly humbled by this honor and we look forward to serving the community for many years to come.”
Dorsch has been a president of the Atlanta Rabbinical Association and is is a member of the Community Advisory Board for the Holocaust Museum at Kennesaw State University.
In more recent years, with anti-Semitic attacks on the rise, he has been increasingly vocal about the subject.
In 2023, after Neo-Nazi protesters brandished a Swastika flag in front of the Chabad of Cobb synagogue on Lower Roswell road, Dorsch spoke at a special ecumenical service at East Cobb UMC, saying that “Anti-Semitism isn’t a Jewish problem. It’s an everyone problem.”
Following Hamas attacks on Israeli civilians that sparked an ongoing conflict in the Gaza region, Etz Chaim lowered the Israeli flag to half-mast and set up a table with chairs bearing the names of hostages.
Birrell quickly introduced a resolution asking commissioners to provide “unwavering support” for Israel, but some members of the Cobb Muslim and Arabic communities protested, and the resolution was withdrawn.
Last fall, Dorsch said the table was being taken down and the flag raised again following the return of the last of the remaining living hostages.
“There’s a lot of brokenness right now that’s in need of repair,” he said in a radio interview. “I’m hopeful and cautiously optimistic that this will be the turning point for a brighter future.”
Dorsch and his wife Amy—a teacher at The Epstein School, a Jewish day school in Sandy Springs—have two children, Zev and Haley.
On Tuesday, Dorsch said that Cobb is “a wonderful place for our family to make our home.”
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Cobb County Board of Elections and Registration recently appointed Leigh Phillips as the department’s new director. She has more than 20 years of experience in elections administration, with extensive leadership at both the state and county levels. Most recently, she served as director of Elections and Voter Registration in Henry County.
“I strongly believe in building public trust through accountability, accessibility, and clear communication,” Phillips said. “My goal is to make the voting process secure, efficient, and understandable for every eligible voter, while supporting the staff who carry out this important task.”
Prior to her work in Henry County, she served in multiple roles with the Georgia Secretary of State. She supported election operations statewide and worked closely with county election offices to ensure compliance with Georgia law and the effective administration of elections.
Phillips began her career in elections as a registrar with Fayette County Elections, where she developed expertise in voter registration and public service. As director, Phillips will oversee the administration of all elections and voter registration activities for Cobb County’s nearly 600,000 registered voters.
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Cobb PARKS officials met this week with board members of the Sandy Plains Softball Association concerned about the proposed redevelopment of Shaw Park and presented a new relocation proposal.
The Save Shaw Park Softball Facebook group posted an aerial shot of what was discussed (above), noting that all five existing softball fields will be retained.
Softball parents publicly expressed opposition to a proposal that called for nearly doubling the pickleball courts at Shaw Park from nine to 19, saying softball fields would be reduced.
County officials and Cobb Commissioner JoAnn Birrell said that wasn’t the case, but they put the project on hold in March to hold further discussions.
“Field 1 will be relocated behind Field 3 and will feature a 125-foot layout with a full turf surface,” parent Ryan Hicks reported to the Save Shaw Park group on Wednesday.
“In addition, Field 5 will be upgraded with a turf infield.”
Birrell was in attendance at the meeting this week and told East Cobb News Thursday that the new proposal is just that—a draft—and that “there are other things to finalize before we can get the final site plan bridging documents and go out to bid.”
She said that there are no changes proposed for the pickleball courts beyond the initial expansion plans.
“We are pleased and excited that any and all issues were resolved and look forward to this project being completed,” said Birrell, who has come under political fire from softball parents.
She’s a four-term incumbent from District 3 in East Cobb and is facing first-time candidate Chris Wasserman in the May 19 Republican primary.
He’s been campaigning on the Shaw Park issue, but Birrell has maintained that softball fields were never going to be reduced in the redevelopment proposal.
On Wednesday, Hicks thanked other softball parents for contacting county officials and expressing their concerns.
“Your voices have been heard . . . Thank you again to everyone involved for contributing to a solution that supports the needs of the entire community.”
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But what Marietta passed in June 2025 on its zoning calendar, after going through the usual public notice procedures, was a data center on a smaller scale.
