Cobb PARKS was recognized by the Cobb Board of Commissioners this week for being named the Agency of the Year by the Georgia Recreation and Park Association.
Department officials and staff were present at Wednesday’s BOC meeting. The agency award is the second given to Cobb in recent years, following 2019, and Cobb PARKS Director Michael Brantley was recognized in 2024 as the GRPA’s Distinguished Professional of the Year.
GRPA is a private, nonprofit institution to support and promote the recreation and park industries within the state of Georgia. According to agenda item for Wednesday’s meeting, it is “the only state organization that serves as an advocate for quality recreation and park areas, facilities, programs and services at the local level.”
The Agency of the Year Award is presented to five population groups within the state. Cobb County is in the largest population category—150,000 and over. More from the agenda item:
“The rating period for the award was September 1, 2024 through August 31, 2025, a year that has been a transformative one for Cobb PARKS, marked by achievements that not only provided improved facilities and operations but also strengthened our commitment to equity, community and quality of life.
“A tremendous number of initiatives and projects — from transformational facilities like the Milford Recreation Center and Rhyne Park, to systemwide upgrades, strategic partnerships and organizational improvements — illustrate a year of growth, innovation and service. Each represents a commitment to ensuring that Cobb’s parks, facilities and programs are not only maintained but continually improved for the benefit of all who call this community home.”
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Flooding along Columns Drive in East Cobb after a storm in 2024. ECN file photo.
The first of two public hearings on a proposed stormwater fee in Cobb County and other code amendments will take place next week.
The hearings are scheduled for 9 a.m. Wednesday before the Cobb Board of Commissioners. The hearings, during a regular BOC meeting, are being delayed by a day due to Veteran’s Day holiday on Tuesday.
Currently Cobb stormwater customers are charged through their water and sewer bills based on the amount of impervious surfaces on their properties.
Commercial and institutional customers would also be billed $4.75 month per 3,700 square feet of impervious surface.
The fee would apply to customers in unincorporated Cobb and the City of Mableton, whose stormwater management is handled by the county. Five of Cobb’s six other cities charge their own stormwater fees; Marietta does not.
At a BOC work session last month, Cobb Water System director Judy Jones said that a stormwater fee is badly needed because not enough revenue is being generated to maintain the aging system, and to address a growing backlog (you can watch a replay here).
Those issues were made more urgent following flooding in 2021 that damaged the homes and properties of many East Cobb residents, some of whom said a new stormwater fee wouldn’t solve their problem.
That’s because homeowners were on the hook for expensive repairs if the county couldn’t determine if their property was on a county plat. Other critics have condemned what they have called a “rain tax.”
Commissioner JoAnn Birrell of District 3 in East Cobb has been opposed to an additional fee since the county transfers revenues from the water department to the general fund.
Jones admitted during the work session that a fee is not going to solve all of the county’s stormwater issues, but it “allows us to enhance our services. We need to get caught up with what we have outgrown.”
She also said the revenues transferred from the water system to the general fund aren’t enough to fund stormwater repairs.
In the current Cobb fiscal year 2026 budget, that transfer amount is $11 million, but only $300,000 comes from stormwater revenue.
Cobb is spending more than $9 million in FY 2026 for stormwater services; the proposed stormwater fee would generate around $17 million a year.
You can click through the slides presented at the work session below; the county has provided further information at a special Stormwater Funding page. Another hearing will be held Nov. 20 prior to a BOC vote on the stormwater fee and other proposed code amendments.
The BOC meeting begins at 9 a.m. in the second floor board room of the county office building at 100 Cherokee Street, Marietta. You can view the full agenda by clicking here.
You also can watch the hearing on the county’s website and YouTube channels and on Cobb TV 23 on Comcast Cable.
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Flooding along Columns Drive in East Cobb, which is routine after heavy rains.
A year and a half since dropping a proposed stormwater fee, Cobb commissioners on Tuesday will be formally presented with a revised plan to impose a dedicated charge for all customers.
Currently customers are charged through their water and sewer bills based on the amount of impervious surfaces on their properties.
Commercial and institutional customers would also be billed $4.75 month per 3,700 square feet of impervious surface.
The fee would apply to customers in unincorporated Cobb and the City of Mableton, whose stormwater management is handled by the county. Five of Cobb’s six other cities charge their own stormwater fees; Marietta does not.
The Cobb water system also has prepared a stormwater credit manual to further break down how it’s intending to charge for stormwater management
The initial stormwater fee plan, first presented in late 2023, would have imposed a charge for residential customers ranging between $2 and $12 a month, based on the amount of impervious surfaces on their properties.
Cobb water officials have been asking for a separate stormwater fee for years, saying they can’t manage an aging, overextended stormwater system, which has been budgeted $9.5 million in the current Cobb fiscal year 2026 budget.
The request was accelerated by severe floods in the fall of 2021 that badly damaged many homes and yards in East Cobb.
Citizens protested a proposed stormwater fee at an East Cobb town hall meeting in March 2024.
But when the county introduced a fee proposal, citizens protested en masse, at public comment sessions and other events, including a fiery town hall meeting in East Cobb.
They blasted the proposal as a “rain tax,” and said it wouldn’t help those affected by the flood damage.
At that town hall, Cobb Water System director Judy Jones said that “the way we’re charging now, residential customers are paying more than commercial customers. I’m trying to fix that. But I have to have more money to do that. The way we do it now is not equitable.”
Cobb’s two Republican commissioners, JoAnn Birrell of East Cobb and Keli Gambrill of West Cobb, opposed that fee.
Former Commissioner Jerica Richardson of East Cobb, whose constituents were affected by the 2021 floods, called for the initial motion to table the proposal in March of 2024, saying that stakeholders sessions should be conducted to go over what she called “a big issue . . . but it’s complex.”
Commissioners will hold public hearings on the proposed stormwater fee in November.
The work session on Tuesday will not include public comments, but there is a public comment session scheduled for the Cobb Board of Commissioners meeting Tuesday night.
That meeting begins at 7 p.m. in the second floor board room of the county office building at 100 Cherokee Street, Marietta. You can view the full agenda by clicking here.
You also can watch the hearing on the county’s website and YouTube channels and on Cobb TV 23 on Comcast Cable.
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East Cobb resident Jennifer Mosbacher, chairwoman of the Cobb Board of Elections
Members of the Cobb Board of Elections will be receiving a big pay boost for the work that they do.
The Cobb Board of Commissioners on Tuesday voted to increase the monthly stipends for the five-member board, which is one of only six appointed bodies in the county getting them.
By a 3-2 vote, commissioners approved a request to increase the stipends by $50 a month.
The chair’s monthly stipend will go from $200 a month to $450 a month, and the other four members’ stipends are rising from $150 to $350 a month.
While those represent more than double what they had been paid, the new amounts are less than what was requested. An agenda item stated that $600 monthly stipend was being sought for the chair and $500 a month for everyone else.
Interim Cobb Elections director Michael D’Istri said at Tuesday’s commissioners meeting that elections board members haven’t received a raise in more than three decades, and in more recent years, their workload has increased.
Typically board members are now meeting several times a month during occasionally long meetings. A new Georgia elections law requires elections boards across the state to hold additional certification meetings around elections.
This year alone, with several municipal elections concluding in November, board members will be holding more than 30 meetings.
D’Istri also noted more recent political tensions, including in Cobb, which has swung from Republican domination in local offices to Democrats holding all countywide offices as well as majorities on the commission and legislative delegation. The GOP has a slight edge on the Cobb school board.
“The culture, the environment, the atmosphere of elections has changed drastically over the years,” D’Istri said.
Those tensions have broken out into the open at elections board meetings, including a proposed by-law change that was dropped in August. Democrats have four appointees on the current board; the Republicans one.
Current chair Jennifer Mosbacher, an appointee of Democratic Cobb Commission Chairwoman Lisa Cupid, has been attacked by some citizens for her refusal to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance.
After Cupid made a comparison to the stipends for Cobb Planning Commission members, who get around $10,00 a year, Commissioner JoAnn Birrell of East Cobb said the comparison wasn’t fair.
She said planning board members, who meet once a month, do a lot of outside work, visiting sites and holding community meetings.
But Birrell, who voted against the elections board increases along with Keli Gambrill, the other Republican commissioner, was more concerned about the precedent.
“If we do this outside of the budget, we’re going to get a lot of other requests” from other appointed bodies.
According to the agenda item, the additional annual expense for the elections board stipend rises comes to $21,600, and those raises are effective immediately.
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The Cobb Board of Commissioners is set to vote on a new police chief this month.
But the vote naming interim chief J.D. Ferrell as police chief that had been on Tuesday’s agenda is being pushed back two weeks.
Cobb government sent out a statement Monday afternoon saying that the board “will move ahead” with a vote on the selection of Ferrell on Oct. 28.
Ferrell was recommended by Cobb County Manager Jackie McMorris, but on Friday Cobb Commission Chairwoman Lisa Cupid called for a Monday press conference “to provide transparency in addressing challenges with the announced selection of Police Chief.”
The county statement Monday afternoon said that “the delay was requested by Chairwoman Lisa Cupid, who initially sought to address issues related to the search and selection process, but supports the candidate and moving forward with the process of approving this candidate on the 28th.”
Earlier Monday afternoon, the county announced Cupid was cancelling the press conference less than an hour before it was to begin, citing a scheduling conflict.
Cobb spokesman Ross Cavitt told East Cobb News that commissioners were still in meetings, over Tuesday’s agenda, and for other matters.
But Cupid hasn’t confirmed that information, and the paper quoted Commissioner Keli Gambrill as saying that she thought Shields had “a chip on her shoulder” in the interview process, which apparently included two other unnamed candidates.
Gambrill, in the same media report, also objected to the process, saying it’s the county manager’s job to recommend a candidate, not the elected chair.
Ferrell is a 29-year veteran of the Cobb Police Department and had been a deputy chief when former Chief Stuart VanHoozer retired in April.
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Interested in becoming a vendor with Cobb County? If so, you don’t want to miss the upcoming free seminar, How to do Business with Cobb County Government and Cobb County Schools, 5:30 – 7:30 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 16, at the Cobb Civic Center, 548 South Marietta Parkway SE, Marietta. Registration is required as seats are limited.
Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!
The Cobb Board of Commissioners on Tuesday will be asked to remove the interim tag from Cobb Police Chief J.D. Ferrell.
His name has been submitted as the recommendation as the lone finalist for police chief by Cobb County Manager Jackie McMorris, with his tenure to begin immediately if confirmed, according to an agenda item for Tuesday’s meeting.
His positions with Cobb have included patrol officer, training, special operations, special investigations and crimes against persons. He also has served as executive officer to the Cobb Director of Public Safety.
Ferrell, who is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice, was named interim chief in April, when Stuart VanHoozer retired.
But Cupid declined to confirm that information, and the paper quoted Commissioner Keli Gambrill as saying that she thought Shields had “a chip on her shoulder” in the interview process, which apparently included two other unnamed candidates.
Gambrill, in that same report, objected to the process, saying it’s the county manager’s job to recommend a candidate, not the elected chair.
UPDATED, FRIDAY, 3 p.m.:
The Cobb government communications office on Friday sent out an advisory about a press availability with Cupid on Monday, something she has rarely done in five-plus years in office.
“Chairwoman Cupid seeks to provide transparency in addressing challenges with the announced selection of Police Chief and answer questions from the media,” the advisory said.
ORIGINAL REPORT:
Shields was a longtime Atlanta police officer and was named chief in 2016, but resigned in 2020 following the shooting death of a man at a Wendy’s restaurant by an officer. That was in the wake of protests following the death of George Floyd.
Shields was named Louisville Police Chief in 2021 but resigned in late 2022 after a new mayor was elected. Shortly after that she was hired later by a technology company in Suwanee that provides training for law enforcement, but her name is no longer listed on its leadership team.
If Ferrell is confirmed, it would continue a pattern of long-time Cobb Police veterans becoming chief. VanHoozer was with the department for 35 years, but served as chief for less than three years. He succeeded Tim Cox, whose long tenure in Cobb also included serving as the Precinct 4 commander in East Cobb.
The Board of Commissioners meeting begins at 9 a.m. Tuesday in the second floor board room of the county office building at 100 Cherokee Street, Marietta. You can view the full agenda by clicking here.
You also can watch the hearing on the county’s website and YouTube channels and on Cobb TV 23 on Comcast Cable.
Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!
Cobb County Government invites residents, students, businesses, and community organizations to attend Cobb Cybersecurity Day 2025 on Friday, Oct. 3, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Cobb County Civic Center, 548 South Marietta Parkway SE, Marietta.
Held in recognition of National Cybersecurity Awareness Month, this free event will provide critical insights and hands-on learning opportunities to help individuals recognize and defend against today’s growing cyber threats.
Event highlights:
Expert presentations from local universities and industry leaders
Insights from Cobb County’s Technology-Based Crimes Unit
Practical guidance on protecting personal data and spotting cyber scams
Information on how Cobb County safeguards community data
Career resources for students exploring cybersecurity fields
Complimentary catered lunch
Door prizes including a YETI cooler, Surface Laptop, and more*
Since 2004, National Cybersecurity Awareness Month has united public and private partners to raise awareness about cybersecurity and data privacy. This year, Cobb County is bringing that mission directly to the community with a day dedicated to education, prevention, and empowerment.
Why attend? As reliance on digital systems grows, informed individuals are the first line of defense. Cobb Cybersecurity Day is designed to give attendees the knowledge to protect themselves, their families, and their workplaces.
The event is free and open to the public. Registration is encouraged but not required*. Register at:cobbcounty.gov/CyberDay
*Registration and attendance are required to be eligible for door prizes.
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The Cobb County Public Library System announced that for three days next week, the Mountain View Regional Library will be closed for “a large entrance door replacement project.”
The library system said in a release Thursday that the branch at 3320 Sandy Plains Road will be closed from Thursday, Sept. 11, through Saturday, Sept. 13, and is scheduled to reopen the following day, Sunday, Sept. 14.
As a regional library, Mountain View is one of the few Cobb branches that is open on Sundays.
During the closure, curbside pickup services for reserved items will be available from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Thursday-Friday and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The Mountain View book drops will remain open throughout the closure period.
The closest branch is the Gritters Library at 880 Shaw Park Road, which will be open during the Mountain View closure Thursday-Friday are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
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Some Cobb veterans showed up in dress uniforms. Others were attired to indicate the details and places of their military service.
On Tuesday a few dozen of them showed up to convince Cobb commissioners to spend an additional $1 million in county funding for a veterans memorial.
But even after their emotional comments, commissioners turned down the request by a 4-1 vote.
Commissioners had an extra $175 million to allocate in current 2022 Cobb SPLOST (Special-Purpose Local-Option Sales Tax) revenues, due to healthy economic activity.
According to SPLOST regulations, only projects on the list that were submitted to voters for the sales tax referendum are eligible for the additional funds.
But while the Cobb Veterans Memorial, which has been in the works for a decade at the behest of county officials, was on the 2022 SPLOST list, it wasn’t on the list of items eligible for the $175 million in additional revenues.
Commissioner JoAnn Birrell
So Commissioner JoAnn Birrell of East Cobb proposed taking $1 million in her contingency account for the development of Ebenezer Downs Park and transfer that amount to the veterans memorial to complete the project.
But she couldn’t get any of her colleagues to go along, and was openly frustrated at the proceedings.
“How can you put a price tag on our veterans?” Birrell asked, near the end of delivering prepared remarks.
Due to construction cost increases, the veterans memorial, which is being proposed for a site at Larry Bell Park in Marietta, was priced at nearly $8 million.
The county had already committed $3 million—$1 million in previous SPLOST allocations and $2 million from Birrell and Chairwoman Lisa Cupid in other discretionary funds.
Another $1 million been raised by the Cobb Veterans Memorial Foundation, a non-profit. The foundation reduced the scope of the memorial to get the cost to just under $5 million, cutting out a POW memorial and honor walls.
Cobb has an estimated 60,000 military veterans, and Birrell asked those in attendance Tuesday to stand, and they did, to applause.
Vietnam veteran T.D. Jorgensen
One of them, Skip Bell, a member of the memorial’s board, said that “it’s easy to say you love and support veterans.
“Everybody says that. You are in a position,” he told commissioners, to prove that support.
But that didn’t sway new Commissioner Erick Allen, whose District 2 includes the proposed memorial site.
He noted that other park projects on the list for additional revenues “aren’t getting anything over and above what was on the original list” and pledged to help raise the money from private sources to close that $1 million gap.
He added that the original memorandum of understanding didn’t intend for the memorial to be a county-funded project, and said the elements of the memorial that don’t have funding now could be added later.
“We can break ground today with the funding that has been raised and with the funds that have been committed,” calling his suggestion a compromise.
Allen also said it was “insulting” to hear accusations that his opposition to another $1 million in county funds was likened to “spitting on the veterans coming home from Vietnam.”
Cobb Veterans Memorial Foundation president Donna Rowe
But Donna Rowe, the memorial foundation’s board president and a former captain in the U.S. Army nursing corps in Vietnam, recounted that history from her perspective, and rattled off the changing cost estimates and county stipulations for getting the work done.
“We cannot do this in phases,” she said in response to Allen, thanking Birrell and Cupid for their “undying devotion” to getting the memorial built.
After the vote, Marietta resident Donald Barth, a frequent public commenter, said the memorial can be completed without more public funding.
“We are going to have a memorial and we all know it,” he said. “We need people who will move the ball forward.”
That summed up the thoughts of some of the veterans who were hoping for a different vote.
“There are Americans who are going to support this with or without you,” Vietnam veteran T.D. Jorgensen said, thanking Rowe and the others advocating for the memorial.
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Cobb County government announced Thursday that three New York credit rating agencies have continued the county’s AAA status for the 28th year in a row.
The AAA ratings are the highest possible, and were continued by Standard and Poor’s, Fitch and Moody’s.
The county uses the ratings to issue bonds for financing roads, parks and infrastructure at low interest rates, and to attract a wide pool of investors.
“Cobb continues to be recognized by the ratings agencies for our financial practices, economic strength, and stability,” Cobb Board of Commissioners Chairwoman Lisa Cupid said in a statement issued by the county Wednesday.
“This recognition should give our residents confidence that the county is a good steward of their tax dollars as we grow and meet diverse expectations .”
The Standard and Poor’s Global Ratings, according to the county release, cited Cobb’s “robust economy, consistent financial performance, sizable reserves, and proactive management practices in its report.”
The Cobb County School District also has a AAA bond rating that it uses to finance capital projects, including school construction and maintenance.
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Cobb County property owners should be getting their 2025 tax bills in the mail this week.
They were mailed out on Monday, according to a release from the Cobb Tax Commissioners Office (you can read through it here).
The bills for residential and commercial property owners are due on Oct. 15, and payment is via online, by phone, regular mail or in person (details below).
The property tax bills are to fund fiscal year operations for the Cobb County School District and Cobb County government, based on the July 2025 Cobb tax digest approval.
Cobb Tax Commissioner Carla Jackson said that 271,757 tax bills were calculated, totaling $1.364 billion in revenues.
By phone, you can pay by calling an automated system at 1-866-PAY-COBB (1-866-729-2622).
To submit your payment via regular U.S. Postal Service Mail, send to: Cobb County Tax Commissioner, P.O. Box 100127, Marietta, Ga. 30061.
And to pay in person, you can visit one of three locations during regular business hours (M-F 8-5):
Cobb Board of Tax Assessors: 736 Whitlock Ave., Marietta
East Cobb Government Service Center: 4400 Lower Roswell Road
South Cobb Government Service Center, 4700 Austell Road, Austell.
Each of those locations also has a dedicated drop box that’s available 24/7 for checks or money orders. There’s also a drop box in Northeast Cobb, at the Cobb Tax Commissioner’s satellite office at 2932 Canton Road.
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The Cobb Library System’s book sales at the Cobb Civic Center feature big inventories.
The Cobb County Public Library System said Monday that its fall book sale was being cancelled “due to limited storage.”
Library officials said in a release that they stopped collecting donated items for the sale earlier this year because of “storage challenges faced by all county departments.”
Instead, the library system will be having sales at various library branches.
Cobb government spokesman Ross Cavitt told East Cobb News that some of the county facilities used to store book sale items are no longer available.
They include the former Cobb Division of Family and Children Services building on Fairground Street in Marietta that has been converted into client interview space, as well as the Cobb Elections Office warehouse on Cobb Parkway, which he said is “filled up.
“Space is always an issue as Cobb departments try to provide service to a growing population with a limited capital budget, but I wouldn’t say there are significant issues right now,” Cavitt said.
The book sales are held twice a year, with proceeds supporting the library system operating budget. Citizens donate books, albums, CDs, videos and other materials that have been sold at the Cobb Civic Center, in the spring and the fall.
“While we’re disappointed we can’t hold the event this fall due to circumstances beyond our control, we’re committed to exploring solutions and hope to return stronger in the spring,” Teresa Tresp, the Cobb Library System’s Division Director of Branch Services, said in the release.
“In the meantime, we invite everyone to visit our branch book sales, where they can still find great reads and support the library in a more personal setting.”
The release said that the library system “is actively exploring storage solutions and hopes to move forward with the Spring 2026 Book Sale as scheduled.”
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William Tanks, Cobb Library Foundation treasurer, with (L-R) executive director Sandra Morris, vice president Nona Lay and board member Judy Boyce. Thursday’s tree dedication honored his late wife Lee Ann. Photos courtesy Cobb County Public Library System.
Submitted information and photos:
On Thursday, July 31st, the Cobb Library Foundation hosted a heartfelt tree dedication ceremony at the Sewell Mill Library & Cultural Center to honor the life and memory of Lee Ann Tanks. A Cherokee Brave Dogwood was planted in her name, a living tribute to a woman remembered for her unwavering faith, deep love for her family, and quiet, enduring service to the Cobb community.
Lee Ann (September 14, 1968 – June 7, 2025) spent over 24 years in public safety, serving as both a 911 dispatcher and a Fire Investigator Technician in the Fire Marshal’s Office. She was known for her strong but gentle spirit, and for a life guided by compassion, commitment, and kindness.
Among her greatest joys was being a mother to her son, U.S. Marine Justin Bradley Jean. Lee Ann was endlessly proud of him and poured her heart into raising him with faith and love.
Later in life, she married her soulmate, William “Bill” Tanks, City Manager of Mableton, GA– with her dearest friend Carla at her side as maid of honor. Bill, a dedicated member of the Cobb Library Foundation, became not only her loving husband and best friend, but a proud and caring bonus dad to Justin. Through their union, Lee Ann also gained three beloved bonus children: Eboni, Phillip (Catherine), and Naomi Tanks. Together, they built a life full of laughter, love, and cherished memories.
“Lee Ann was the kind of person who made everyone feel seen, supported, and loved,” said Sandra Morris, Executive Director of the Cobb Library Foundation. “She and Bill were longtime supporters of the Foundation, and it’s an honor to recognize her in a way that reflects the warmth, strength, and kindness she shared with others. Planting this tree is a lasting tribute to her legacy.”
To honor her as she lived—and as she wished to be remembered—the Cobb Library Foundation planted a tree in her name. The Cherokee Brave Dogwood, symbolic of strength, courage, and grace, now grows in the heart of the Sewell Mill Library grounds, offering a peaceful space for reflection and remembrance.
A touching moment during the ceremony came when Sandra Morris, Executive Director of the Cobb Library Foundation, shared an original poem written in Lee Ann’s memory:
YOU
Left us too soon, but you’re ever-present,
Every day. Always in our hearts, Never to be forgotten. Now rest in peace knowing that we’re
Thinking of you. And thankful to have known you. Not a person in the world like you!!
Knowing you made a difference,
Sweet friend.
The ceremony brought together family, friends, and library staff to celebrate her legacy. Through the growth of this tree, her spirit and values will continue to thrive in the very community she loved.
Tanks is a former Cobb County Director of Public Services.The newly planted tree honors the memory of his late wife Lee Ann, who died in June.Lee Ann Tanks was a 911 dispatcher and a Fire Investigator Technician in the Fire Marshal’s Office.
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“Cobb used to be the county that people looked up to . . . that’s not how I see it now,” Commissioner JoAnn Birrell said.
Along partisan lines, the Cobb Board of Commissioners on Tuesday approved a $1.3 billion fiscal year 2026 budget that holds the line on the general fund property tax rate and provides modest raises for some county employees.
The budget, which goes into effect on Oct. 1, adds only four new positions—two in the Cobb Water Department and two in the Cobb Fire Department—and reduces the amount of money transferred to the general fund from water revenues.
While that latter reduction—from 5 percent of water revenues to 4 percent—made Commissioner JoAnn Birrell of East Cobb happy, she didn’t like a cut in the fire fund millage rate.
She and fellow Republican Commissioner Keli Gambrill voted against the budget proposal that drew criticisms for increased funding. The FY 2026 budget is $48 million more that FY 2025 across all funding categories, with much of the increase tied to employee pay raises and increases in the cost of benefits.
County employees will get a two percent cost-of-living raise, and some are eligible for another a three percent based on performance, primarily those in public safety.
Although the general fund millage rate is holding at 84.6 mills, that part of the budget is increasing by $13 million, to around $643 million, due to rising assessments.
The fire fund millage rate is falling from 2.99 mills to 2.97 mills, resulting in a $1 million decrease in revenues to $161 million.
That cut was among several from a projection in March by county budget officials that the government was facing a $7 million budget shortfall.
While Cobb property owners get a floating homestead exemption for the general fund portion of their tax bill, that exemption does not exist for the fire fund, which could be subject to higher taxes.
But Birrell opposed the fire fund cuts, pointing out that commissioners did the same thing in 2018, only to raise the rate again.
“We’ve been down this road before, and just got back to what it was,” she said. “Everything in the fire fund pays for what the fire department does.”
Cobb Commission Chairwoman Lisa Cupid, one of the three Democrats who voted to approve the budget, said the employee raises are needed, defending the additional spending for recruitment and retention purposes.
While most public speakers at Tuesday’s meeting urged commissioners to rein in spending, Cupid said that county employees “don’t come for public hearings. They speak with their feet.”
The budget also cuts out $1.2 million in discretionary spending for each of the five commissioners that they had had in recent years.
But the Cobb tax digest growth is smaller this year, less than 3 percent, compared to more than 7 percent in recent years.
That produced a budget crunch long before the FY 2026 spending plan was laid out. Cobb government department heads asked for nearly 300 new positions, most of them with the Sheriff’s Office and police department.
But even with what amounts to a hiring freeze and targeted cuts to balance the budget, Birrell complained that the trend in recent years to significantly increase spending is troubling.
“Cobb used to be the county that people looked up to,” she said.
“Our slogan used to be ‘we do more with less.’ That’s not how I see it now.”
Cupid, who took office in 2021, when party control of the board flipped from Republican to Democrat, said Cobb is doing “more with less” better than most local governments in metro Atlanta.
“Find me one,” she said. “Let’s go on a road trip.”
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We’re excited to announce the launch of the updated Cobb County Government mobile app, redesigned to make staying connected with your local government easier and more convenient.
The new CobbGov app puts key county services and information right at your fingertips. With an improved design and user-friendly interface, the app provides quick access to:
County news and emergency alerts
Upcoming events and public meetings
Commissioner contacts and district information
Road closures, traffic updates, and construction alerts
Parks, facility locations, and public safety resources
Contact information and service requests
You can also enable push notifications to receive real-time alerts about major events, weather updates, or service changes impacting your area — ensuring you’re always informed when it matters most. Whether you need to look up your commissioner, report a pothole, or check the latest traffic advisory, the CobbGov app is your go-to tool for staying informed and engaged with your community.
Download the app today by searching for “CobbGov” in the Apple App Store or Google Play:
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While the proposed millage rates in four funds is the same as the current fiscal year 2025 budget, those rates are not being “rolled back” to match current spending totals, and to reflect the value of reassessed properties.
Here’s the official description in that statement:
“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 hypothetical ‘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 $1.325 billion budget outlined to Cobb commissioners Tuesday represents a nearly four percent increase from FY 2025 spending totals.
In the county’s announcement Thursday morning, the budget proposal represents a 1.09 percent rise in the amount of property taxes that would be collected.
Under Georgia law, local jurisdictions that do that must designate that they’re asking for a property tax increase and schedule three public hearings. The details are as follows, and will take place at the Cobb government building, 100 Cherokee St., Marietta:
Tuesday, July, 8, 2025, at 9 a.m.
Wednesday, July 16, 2025, at 6:30 p.m.
Tuesday, July 22, 2025, 7 p.m.
Budget adoption is scheduled following the final hearing on July 22.
The projected Cobb tax digest growth for 2025 is 2,7 percent, and the final figure will be determined in July.
The general fund is the largest of the county’s tax collecting mechanisms, and is being proposed to hold at 8.46 mills. General fund taxes would fund $645 million in revenues, up from the present fiscal year 2025 total of $624 million.
That fund covers most county government services, including police.
The fire fund covers fire and emergency services and would stay at 2.99 mills, collecting $161 million, up by $8 million. Those revenues also are collected from property taxes.
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After projecting a $7 million budget deficit in March, Cobb finance officials presented a nearly-balanced fiscal year 2026 budget proposal Tuesday that holds the line on property tax rates and includes modest raises for county employees.
During a work session, Cobb Chief Financial Officer Bill Volckmann told the Cobb Board of Commissioners that the proposed spending package still needs a $1 million reduction to break even.
During an update in March, he outlined a variety of possible cuts to the $7 million figure, including a contingency fund of $1 million for commissioners to spend at their discretion on various projects in the county and their respective districts.
The budget, which will have hearings and adoption in July, holds the general fund property rate at 8.46 mills and the fire fund rate, which is at 2.99 mills.
The general fund millage rate has been the same since 2018, but many homeowners have seen their tax bills skyrocket due to rising assessments in recent years. Some citizens have asked that the millage rate be “rolled back” to hold the line at spending.
But commissioners have (along mostly partisan lines) ignored those pleas, citing staff openings and the need to boost employee recruitment and retention, especially in public safety agencies.
The general fund would generate $645 million in revenues, up from the present fiscal year 2025 total of $624 million. Fire fund projected revenues would be $161 million, up by $8 million.
Cobb tax digest growth is projected to be a little more than two percent in 2025, compared to higher increases in recent years.
Only four new positions would be created in county government, two lieutenant positions in the fire department, and two stormwater project management inspector positions in the water department, with the funding coming outside of the general fund.
In March, Volckmann told commissioners that county department heads had proposed nearly 300 new positions, with 113 from the Cobb Sheriff’s Office and more than 70 in the Cobb Police Department, in new spending requests totalling nearly $93 million.
Under the proposed budget, county employees would receive two-percent pay raises, and could get merit raises up to three percent. Public safety employees also would get the two-percent raises and step-and-grade raises for those who are eligible.
Volckmann said that while Cobb has filled 106 vacancies in public safety departments during the current fiscal year, several departments still have dozens of openings.
Police, fire and the Cobb Water Department all have more than 70 openings each, he said.
The budget proposal also would reduce the amount of water department revenues from five percent to four percent.
The Cobb government fiscal year 2026 starts on Oct. 1 and concludes on Sept. 30, 2026.
The graphics below were presented at the work session Tuesday; click the middle button to view the slideshow.
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The proposed Cobb government fiscal year 2026 budget will be formally proposed Tuesday.
Cobb Chief Financial Officer Bill Volckmann
The $1.4 billion proposed spending package will be outlined to the Cobb Board of Commissioners at a work session that begins at 1:30 p.m. in the second floor board room of the county office building at 100 Cherokee Street, Marietta.
According to a budget overview (you can read it here) as of late March, there’s a projected general fund budget of $7 million.
That shortfall includes $2 million “in budget recommendations but does not account for new positions or additional requests beyond those recommendations. This projection is subject to change as more financial data becomes finalized.”
That’s the latest update the county has provided at on its budget page. You can find more budget details at this link.
The budget office laid out several recommendations in the overview to balance the general fund budget:
Keep the rate of Cobb water department revenues transferred to the general fund at the present five percent ($2.3 million) instead of reducing it to four percent;
Shift 0.o5 mills from the Cobb Fire Fund—which pays for fire and emergency services—to the general fund ($2.2 million);
Cut $1 million in police and sheriff’s overtime budgets;
Cut the $1 million budgeted in a contingency fund for each of the five commissioners, who are allotted $200,000 each to spend as they see fit;
Increase the general fund millage rate.
In March, Cobb Chief Financial Officer Bill Volckmann briefed commissioners on an additional $92.7 million in spending requests from county department heads above the current FY 2025 budget of $1.27 billion. Of that, roughly half, or $624.8 million, comes from the general fund.
A total of $74.3 million in requested new spending would come from the general fund, much of that for additional positions in the Cobb Sheriff’s Office and Cobb Police Department—a total of 290 new public safety positions in all.
The budget process—the final package must be passed by the end of July—also comes as the Cobb tax digest is projected to grow by only 2 percent in 2025, which is down from 8.52 percent last year.
For the last two years, commissioners have adopted budgets of $1.2 billion and $1.27 billion, largely due to significant increases in the county tax digest.
But commissioners have come under fire from citizens both years for not “rolling back” the property tax rate to offset the additional revenues (the general fund millage rate has stood at 8.46 mills).
They will be under considerable pressure to hold the line on the tax burden while adjusting to a different fiscal environment, and with additional spending requests and rising costs for employee salaries and benefits.
At the March work session, Commissioner Keli Gambrill said that “this is quite a big budget request.”
The FY 2026 budget is the second of a two-year “biennial” budget process. The overview details the differences between adopted FY 2025 spending and what is being projected, or $6.9 million less. That figure includes the tax digest projection and the five-percent water transfer rate.
The overview states that since the FY budget adoption last summer, there has been a $16 million increase in personnel costs, and $11 million in budgeted capital expenses has been been cut.
Another $1.56 million in funds earmarked as contingency for the upcoming Major League Baseball All-Star Game at Truist Park also has been removed.
The updated general fund budget (as of March 25) shows $644 million in expenses, and $637 million in projected revenues, with the increases also being attributed to rising costs for employee benefits plans and pension funds.
Increases in public safety staffing has been one of the top priorities of the current biennial budget.
The finance office noted in its proposed recommendation to shift some of the fire fund millage rate to the general fund that the fire fund currently has a $10 million surplus. A total of 26 fire positions have been filled in the past year, 76 vacancies remain.
The Sheriff’s Office is seeking 113 new positions and the Police Department is asking for 17 new full-time positions.
The water transfers have been the process of being reduced in recent years from a high of 10 percent by one percent a year.
Public hearings on the budget proposal and county millage rates will take place on July 8, 15 and 22, with adoption scheduled for the latter date.
Also at Tuesday’s work session, commissioners will be given an annual update on finances associated with Truist Park and The Battery.
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A couple weeks ago Cobb commissioners accepted a $207,000 donation from East Side baseball to complete the work of replacing grass fields with synthetic turf that’s been years in the making.
That work was just one part of continued improvements at the Cobb PARKS facility on Robinson Road.
On Tuesday, commissioners will consider a request for a new accessible sidewalk from the main parking lot to the Fullers Park tennis courts.
That project falls under the Americans With Disabilities Act, will cost $122,165 in 2022 Cobb PARKS SPLOST funding, according to an agenda item.
The agenda item states that county staff is recommending the contract be awarded to W.E. Contracting Company, Inc.
Fullers Park has four tennis courts located in the front of the park, adjacent to the main parking area.
Also on Tuesday, commissioners will be asked by the Cobb Water System to spend $390,625 for stream stabilization work along Sope Creek near its mouth on the Chattahoochee River.
That’s the amount of the low bidder, CGS, LLC, to repair a portion of an eroded sewer pipe on River Heights Crossing, near Columns Drive.
According to an agenda item, the work will replace “160 linear feet of a reinforced concrete retaining wall along the streambank and covering the sewer line with fill material.”
In other items on the agenda, Cobb DOT has revised the cost of a contract to begin engineering design work for sidewalks along Pete Shaw Road in Northeast Cobb.
An agenda item states that an additional $13,000 is being requested due to modifications that include adding a wall design and drainage revisions, bringing the contract amount to $400,000.
The 0.8-mile sidewalk between Sandy Plains Road and Hazlehurst Drive was to have been completed by the end of 2025, but the agenda items states that timetable has been pushed back to March 2027.
The agenda item states that the project, to be funded from the 2022 SPLOST, has a budget of $1.8 million, with $416,614 already spent.
Another agenda item related to that project is asking for right-of-way condemnation for 0.8 acres along Pete Shaw Road.
Another right-of-way condemnation is being sought at the southeast corner of Canton Road and Piedmont Road, the location of a Wells Fargo Bank, as Cobb DOT continues preparing for traffic work along the Canton Road corridor.
The $2.4 million project also is funded from the 2022 SPLOST. The work stipulated for that intersection includes the addition of a right turn lane from Canton Road eastbound onto Piedmont Road and the addition of sidewalk along Canton Road.
The agenda items state that the condemnations would take place only if continuing negotiations with property owners break down.
The Board of Commissioners meeting begins at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the second floor board room of the county office building at 100 Cherokee Street, Marietta. You can view the full agenda by clicking here.
You also can watch the hearing on the county’s website and YouTube channels and on Cobb TV 23 on Comcast Cable.
Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!
