As he spends his last few months in office, Cobb commissioner Bob Ott is getting invited to speak about his 12-year tenure.
Ott addressed the East Cobb Area Council of the Cobb Chamber of Commerce last week, reviewing business and economic development, zoning and land use issues, infrastructure, health care, libraries, parks and more.
(You can watch his full presentation at this link).
“Indeed it has been a ride,” said Ott, who announced in January he would not be seeking a fourth term.
Ott is a former president of the East Cobb Civic Association and served on the Cobb Planning Commission. In 2008, he defeated commissioner Joe Thompson, who had appointed him to that board.
The Republican who lives in the Powers Ferry-Terrell Mill area has represented District 2, which includes most of East Cobb as well as the Cumberland-Smyrna-Vinings area.
Ott said the biggest economic driver was the construction of the Atlanta Braves stadium, now called Truist Park, that he said has generated 22,000 jobs in the district.
“We didn’t just get a stadium” he said, referencing the adjacent The Battery Atlanta development and the 22-story Thyssen-Krupp tower that’s opening soon.
Another major development that he steered is the MarketPlace Terrell mixed-use project that’s underway at Powers Ferry and Terrell Mill.
It’s the centerpiece of the Powers Ferry corridor that was the subject of the first of four master plans that have been developed in District 2.
“If we get certain things to go, everything else will follow,” he said, referring to nearby businesses that have upgraded, including a BP station across the road.
A Wendy’s restaurant has opened at the MarketPlace Terrell Mill, with other restaurants and eateries coming on line soon, as well as an apartment complex. The anchor will be a Kroger superstore.
Ott said that in his time in office, 5,000 apartments have been built in District 2, with around 3,500 of them in the Cumberland/Battery area, “where they should be.”
The other master plans included Vinings, design guidelines for the Johnson Ferry corridor and last week, when commissioners approved one for the Johnson Ferry-Shallowford area.
He said those plans include 60 percent of land in District 2, and give developers a solid guideline for developers.
For the most part, Ott said, “if they develop according to the master plan, the community is going to support it.”
In November, District 2 voters will choose his successor. Republican Fitz Johnson, a Vinings resident who serves on the board of the WellStar Health System, will face Democrat Jerica Richardson, a first-time candidate who lives in the Delk Road area.
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Cobb Commissioner Bob Ott announced Tuesday he would be retiring at the end of the year. Last night, he distributed the text of his prepared statement that he made during the commission business meeting:
It’s hard to believe this is the 12th year I have had the honor and privilege to serve the people of District Two. As I reflect on those years during the holidays, I am so thankful for all of the people who help me every day. None of this would be possible without the support of my best friend; my wife Judy. She along with Katie and Chris continue to accept the late nights and weekend phone calls that come with this job. I also need to recognize all the volunteers and appointees who have accepted appointments to the numerous commissions and boards. Without them, Kim and I wouldn’t be able to serve the citizens of District Two. Many of them are now the chairs of their respective groups. Together, we were able to accomplish so much for our citizens. The challenges started early, and the group showed it was ready and willing to jump right in. In 2009, we had the great flood. Less than nine months after starting as the commissioner, the county experienced what the experts say was a 750-year flood event. Parts of the district were under over 20-feet of water. The Chattahoochee River crested at 29-feet above flood stage. The citizens of the district, especially those along Columns Drive and in Vinings needed help. County staff literally came to their rescue. There couldn’t have been a worse time, as the county was feeling the effect of the Great Recession. Budget numbers went south, the county instituted furloughs, much to my disappointment. To many county employees it was a wake-up call that even Cobb County wasn’t immune to the devastating impact of the recession. But out of all the down times, we got the commissioners to agree to the creation of a Citizens’ Oversight Committee. They were tasked to look at all aspects of the county operations and recommend where things could be done a better way. Thank you to all the members of that committee. Although it took some time for all the proposals to work their way into the system, eventually, the county started to pull out of the recession. Along with the recovery, there was a new SPLOST proposal, that for the first time was not the usual six years of questionable spending. With the help of Commissioner Powell, we cut the SPLOST to a four-year list of projects saving over $200 million. The Braves will begin their fourth season at the new ballpark, soon to be renamed, Truist. As the new season begins, ThyssenKrupp’s new tower is beginning to rise, and the final phase of The Battery is nearing completion. These successes will bring more opportunity to the district. I look forward to what the future will bring to the county and the district. So, today, I am officially announcing that I will not be running for re-election in November and will be retiring from the commission at the end of the year. I want to thank all of the citizens of District Two for allowing me the honor and the privilege of serving as your commissioner.
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Bob Ott, the longest-serving member of the Cobb Board of Commissioners, won’t be seeking a fourth term. (ECN file)
Cobb commissioner Bob Ott, who has represented part of East Cobb since 2009, announced Tuesday he won’t be seeking re-election to a fourth term.
Ott, a Republican who is the longest-serving member of the commission, made his announcement at the end of the board’s business meeting on Tuesday.
He rattled off a long list of developments and accomplishments in District 2—which includes part of East Cobb and the Cumberland-Vinings area—during his tenure, reading from prepared remarks.
His announcement appeared to have caught his colleagues by surprise.
“Wow,” said commissioner JoAnn Birrell, who represents Northeast Cobb.
Chairman Mike Boyce said “I for one will miss you, and I say that with all genuineness. . . . I’m sure there will be time for accolades later,” but Boyce said he looked forward to working with Ott through the end of the year.
Speaking later to East Cobb News, Ott said he decided a couple months ago he wouldn’t be running again.
“It just seemed like the right time,” said Ott, a Delta Air Lines pilot who turns 63 this year and must retire by the age of 65.
Ott, who travels on long haul routes to San Juan, Hawaii and Rome, said he wanted to enjoy the rest of his flying days as much as anything.
Ott said he told outgoing County Manager Rob Hosack and a few other people of his decision, but not his commission colleagues before Tuesday’s announcement.
Ott got involved in civic affairs in East Cobb through the East Cobb Civic Association, which he served as president, was a member of the Cobb Board of Zoning Appeals and was appointed to the Cobb Planning Commission by former commissioner Joe Lee Thompson.
Ott challenged Thompson in the 2008 Republican primary and defeated the incumbent. He didn’t have any opposition in seeking a second term in 2012. In 2016, Ott was opposed by attorney Jonathan Page, but prevailed in the Republican primary and did not have a Democratic foe.
Ott said his main reason for seeking a third term was to “see through” the opening of the new Atlanta Braves stadium in 2017.
This fall, Ott declined to indicate his future plans, saying he would make an announcement after the first of the year.
He’s occasionally been regarded as a possible candidate for chairman, including for the upcoming 2020 election, and sparred regularly with Boyce and previous chairman Tim Lee.
He said he thought “a little bit” about running for chairman this year but decided against it. Boyce and South Cobb Commissioner Lisa Cupid have announced they’re running for chairman.
Larry Savage, an East Cobb resident who ran for chairman as a Republican in 2012 and 2016, is running for chairman for a third time.
Ott said he understands why some have thought he’s harbored larger political ambitions, but cited a quote from Ronald Reagan, about what can be accomplished without caring who gets the credit.
“This has never been about me,” Ott said. “It’s been about serving the people of this district.”
“I’m not surprised that he’s looking for some downtime after three pretty intense terms as commissioner,” said Linda Carver, outgoing chairwoman of the East Cobb Civic Association. “We appreciate the positive things he’s done for District 2 and the county.”
In recent months, Ott also has deflected speculation that he might be interested in running for mayor in a possible City of East Cobb (in what’s now a stalled cityhood effort).
Former 6th District U.S. Rep. Karen Handel, who’s close to Ott, called him “one of the finest public servants I have ever known. He leads with integrity and great care, always putting the interests of the people he serves first.”
During his remarks, Ott recalled entering office just as major flooding hit Cobb County, along with the recession that forced budget cuts and prompted staffing furloughs he says he opposed.
He pointed to the creation of the Cobb Citizens Oversight Committee to recommend budgeting and spending priorities in the wake of the recession, and touted the creation of the first citizen-led master plans in the county, including the Powers Ferry, Johnson Ferry and Shallowford-Johnson Ferry corridors.
Addressing growth and revitalization in those and other areas and improving communications with constituents are among what Ott said are his most satisfying accomplishments.
He’s held many town hall meetings, launched a newsletter and has hosted a TV show on Cobb’s public government access channel and a podcast on the county website.
Ott said he doesn’t have any future civic activities lined up for now, but that “you don’t just walk away. I don’t plan on moving.”
Ott said another reason for stepping aside now is that he feels that “you want to leave with things better than when you got it. Some things are a lot better than when we got them.”
Among the lingering challenges for the commission is grappling with public safety staffing shortages and county employee pension obligations.
Declared candidates for the District 2 seat include Democrat Jerica Richardson, who announced in July and who has not run for office before, and Lloyd “Shane” Deyo of East Cobb, who did not indicate a party affiliation.
An Ott appointee said Tuesday he’ll be seeking to replace him.
Republican Andy Smith of East Cobb, named to the Cobb Planning Commission in 2018, has not formally declared his candidacy.
The owner of a commercial interior construction company in East Cobb, Smith said he’s previously told Ott—with whom he attended high school in New Jersey—of his desire to run for commissioner at some point.
Smith, who’s been involved in community service work through Mt. Bethel United Methodist Church, said he doesn’t have a specific set of priorities for his campaign for now.
“I have the desire, and I think I have the time,” Smith said. “I see this as an opportunity to give back to the community.”
Smith also has served on the Cobb Neighborhood Safety Commission.
Candidates for office in Cobb must qualify in early March, and Smith would have to resign from the planning board upon filing his paperwork.
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After working to get a new member of the Cobb Board of Education elected last year, East Cobb resident Jerica Richardson has decided to run for public office in 2020.
Richardson, who lives in the Delk Road area, is a candidate for the District 2 Cobb Board of Commissioners seat held by 11-year incumbent Bob Ott.
She said she’s formally launching her campaign in August (her campaign website is here) and is running “because it is time that the community has a seat at the table.”
On her personal website, Richardson describes herself as a “hacktivist” who’s writing a book on the subject. In it, she urges those who are “tired of being ignored” to “pick up those dreams again and inch closer to being who you were meant to be.”
In an interview with East Cobb News, Richardson didn’t offer many specifics about what her priorities would be for now. She admits to being a “firebrand” who dates her interest in politics to the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, which took place when she was 12.
“Running for office has always been something that’s been in the back of my mind,” she said. “The impact our elected representatives have can serve as an empowerment tool for the community.”
Richardson, who works in an enterprise transformation unit at Equifax, serves on the Facilities and Technologies Committee, a SPLOST advisory board, for the Cobb County School District. She was appointed by school board member Jaha Howard, whose campaign she worked on and who was elected last year to represent the Osborne and Campbell clusters.
Richardson, who’s running as a Democrat in what’s been long-held Republican territory, is the only declared candidate thus far in District 2. It includes most of East Cobb below Sandy Plains Road, as well as the Cumberland-Vinings area and portions of Smyrna.
(story continues below the map)
Map via Cobb Elections. For enlarged map click here.
Ott, a Republican and the dean of the five-member Cobb Board of Commissioners, has not yet indicated whether he’s running for a fourth term. He’s also downplayed speculation he’s interested in running for commission chairman, or possibly mayor of a proposed City of East Cobb should such a referendum be on next year’s ballot.
Current chairman Mike Boyce and South Cobb commissioner Lisa Cupid have announced their candidacies for chairman next year.
Richardson and her family moved to Atlanta from New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Her brothers attended Walton High School. She graduated from the North Springs arts and sciences charter school in Fulton County and earned a biomedical engineering degree from Georgia Tech.
She said that community “disconnections” between citizens and their elected officials promoted her to consider running. Who are those individuals?
“People who live and work here and who want to see Cobb grow,” she said.
As for specific issues, Richardson said “I’m keeping my finger on that. I want to be very careful how I look at these issues.
“It’s not about me being any kind of savior,” she said. “It’s about bringing people together. I want to be a real representative.”
Richardson declined to comment on what she thinks of Ott’s record, saying that “my campaign is fresh, and he hasn’t made a decision.”
Among the challenges she sees are those the commissioners are dealing with now, including getting a long-term handle on budgeting, taxes and public safety.
She said she will have more detailed comments on policy issues when she unveils her campaign next month.
“There’s a lot there,” Richardson said. “How to articulate what direction we need to go is very important to me. Words matter.”
In mid-June Richardson filed a campaign declaration form with the Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission. Since then, she said her campaign has raised around $10,000 (the current reporting period must be filed by the end of September).
Ott’s latest campaign disclosure form, dated July 1, indicates he raised $55,000 in the second quarter of 2019, and lists the office being “held or sought” as District 2.
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Northeast Cobb Commissioner JoAnn Birrell voted for a resolution requesting the Georgia General Assembly authorize a November referendum for a Cobb public safety sales tax (East Cobb News file photo).
By a 3-2 vote Tuesday night, a Cobb public safety tax referendum proposal was approved by the Board of Commissioners.
That means their resolution will be submitted to the Georgia legislature, which must authorize a local referendum to take place. Cobb wants the referendum scheduled for November.
The referendum proposal would collect a permanent penny sales tax for public safety costs that county officials say would generate $130 million a year.
Cobb’s six cities would get $34 million of that revenue, and the county would get the remaining $96 million, which would fund all public safety functions except the Cobb Sheriff’s Office.
The sales tax revenue would be used for general operating expenses, including salaries and benefits, as well as capital costs, such as new vehicles and equipment.
The tax would be collected only if Cobb voters approved a referendum.
Cobb currently collects six cents on every dollar in sales taxes.
Voting against the resolution was District 2 commissioner Bob Ott of East Cobb, who wanted the resolution to clarify what would happen with the left-over money in the general fund no longer being used for public safety purposes.
“There’s no discussion here of what happens to the millage in the general fund,” Ott said at a work session on Monday. “This is a tax increase otherwise.”
North Cobb commissioner Bob Weatherford, who is proposing the sales tax, said the board has the flexibility to roll back the property tax millage rate if it chooses.
That wasn’t enough of an assurance for Ott, who supports taking public safety spending out of the general fund but who reiterated his objections right before the vote.
District 3 commissioner JoAnn Birrell of Northeast Cobb supported the resolution, citing the high priority of public safety. “We have to put our money where our mouth is.”
The resolution was opposed by Lance Lamberton of the Cobb Taxpayers Association, who claimed the county doesn’t have a revenue problem but “a spending problem.”
Another sales tax, he said, “will amount to a very large tax increase on our citizens.”
Also sounding off on the vote Tuesday was Tom Cheek, a civic activist who has announced he’s running against Birrell in the Republican primary for District 3 this year.
Cheek wrote on his Facebook page that “by using the false flag of ‘Public Safety’ and the false promise of ‘we will lower your property taxes,’ the BOC took a huge step away from accountability.”
The other opposing vote on the board was Lisa Cupid of South Cobb, who referenced the county’s current budget challenges, with a projected fiscal year 2019 deficit between $30 million and $55 million.
“It’s hard to get our arms around a big gaping hole that’s affecting how everything functions in the county now,” she said.
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Cobb Commission Chairman Mike Boyce speaking to the East Cobb Business Association Tuesday. (East Cobb News photo by Wendy Parker)
In appearing before various constituent groups months ahead of time, Mike Boyce has been increasingly blunt about the Cobb budget deficit, which is expected to be at least $30 million for fiscal year 2019.
Earlier this month, the Cobb commission chairman told a few hundred (mostly) upset seniors at the East Cobb Senior Center about the need for rising fees for county services to the elderly, “because we’re all in this together.”
Earlier this week, Boyce met with members of the East Cobb Business Association and delivered a similar message. In what’s becoming something of a stump speech early in the budget season (the FY 2019 budget doesn’t go into effect until October), Boyce continued to sharpen his tone and implore citizens to be vocal and get engaged with the process.
“We have finally shown the reality of what the shortfall is,” Boyce said in remarks at the ECBA’s monthly luncheon at the Olde Towne Athletic Club.
Bringing pie charts and listings of wants and needs, Boyce reiterated his belief that the current general fund millage rate of 6.76—which yielded revenues of $405 million for the current fiscal year 2018—is not sufficient if Cobb is to remain what he calls “a five-star county.”
After Cobb commissioners used contingency money to close a $20 million gap for FY 2018, there aren’t many more sources to tap. Additional needs call for hiring more police officers, among other increases in spending.
Starting his second year in office, Boyce, an East Cobb resident, has said he “wants to get ahead of the story” in shaping the budget picture as clearly as possible.
“Now is the time we have to pay the bills,” he said.
Last year, he tried to get commissioners to approve a 0.13 mill increase to fund the 2008 Cobb parks bond referendum, but was rejected.
(Information and charts provided by Cobb County government.)
Getting approval for a property tax increase to address the widening budget gap might seem unlikely, but on Monday East Cobb commissioner Bob Ott—who uniformly opposes tax increases—opened the door, at least slightly, to such a possibility.
In an article published for the InsiderAdvantage political newsletter, Ott said he opposed a millage rate increase “without cuts in services that are not mandated or essential to county operations.”
Those include senior programs, parks and libraries, which are on a long list of “desired” services that could face significant reductions for FY 2019.
During last year’s budget deliberations, Northeast Cobb commissioner JoAnn Birrell suggested closing the East Cobb Library, the second-busiest branch in the Cobb system. That never came to fruition, but East Cobb residents who spoke out against that proposal remain concerned.
She estimates her proposal would cost taxpayers an additional $25 a year to avoid the possibility of up to $3 million in cuts (roughly a quarter of the library system’s entire budget) and closing multiple branches.
Ott further explained in the InsiderAdvantage piece that at a commissioners budget retreat last fall, he and a colleague worked up a budget solution with a $55 million deficit baseline and balanced that with non-essential program cuts, fee increases and a 0.5 millage rate increase.
That 0.5 mills would yield $14 million, by Ott’s calculation. He concluded by writing that after “desired” cuts were made and required spending was approved, and “if the essential list is not completely funded” with the present millage rate, “only then would I consider a tax increase.”
Boyce said he read Ott’s article and found it constructive and useful.
“How we’re going to get [to a resolution] is the next part of the problem,” Boyce told the ECBA attendees. “It’s a painful truth, but we’ve got to start telling the truth.”
Boyce will deliver his State of the County address to the Cobb Chamber of Commerce Monday morning.
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This shouldn’t come as a surprise: Cobb Commissioner Bob Ott is opposed to raising the millage rate to balance the fiscal year 2018 Cobb County budget.
Commissioner Bob Ott at his East Cobb Library town hall meeting in August. (East Cobb News photo by Wendy Parker)
With commissioners scheduled to adopt a budget next Thursday, Ott sent out a lengthy message right before the Labor Day holiday weekend explaining why he would not support a rise in the property tax millage rate to cover an estimated $21 million shortfall.
Commission chairman Mike Boyce has proposed an $890 million spending package (PDF here) that includes using contingency funding to close the entire deficit gap.
In July, Ott helped foil Boyce’s plan to raise the millage rate to fully fund the $40 million 2008 Cobb Parks referendum (East Cobb News coverage here).
The proposed FY 2018 budget would be balanced by using reserve funding from the following sources:
$10.4 million from the reserve for a county employees pay and classification implementation study;
$5.7 million from the county Title Ad Valorem Tax Reserve;
$5.3 million from the county economic development contingency.
Ott, who’s been vigorously opposed to property tax increases in general, said he can’t support raising the millage rate now, for a full fiscal-year budget, with contingency money available. In his weekly e-mail newsletter that came out on Friday, he said:
“I believe it is wrong to raise the millage rate before the BOC uses the money from these funds to pay-down the deficit. Together, at their height, these funds totaled approximately $22 million being held in reserve on top of the county’s ‘normal’ reserve funds.”
He also hinted at this position at an Aug. 17 town hall meeting at the East Cobb Library, just days after the budget was revealed, telling constituents “it’s your money.”
In his Friday e-mail, Ott urged finding ways to reduce expenses in some county services, including two familiar targets of his, the annual transfer of Cobb water system revenues to the general fund, and transit subsidies:
“I don’t believe the answer to addressing this $21 million deficit is simply an increase in the millage rate. A complete review of the budget and expenses should be done to identify and eliminate wasteful spending. Two areas that I believe illustrate inefficiencies in the budget are the need to transfer $20 million per year from the Water System to the general fund and the roughly $17 million a year subsidy of the county transit system. CobbLinc provides invaluable service to many county residents. However, many buses travel the routes virtually, if not completely, empty.”
Ott’s also been in a budget fight on another front, with fellow East Cobb commissioner JoAnn Birrell, who is proposing to close the East Cobb Library, citing duplication of services.
After hearing from upset East Cobb residents opposed to shuttering the second-busiest branch in the Cobb library system, Birrell defended her proposal at an Aug. 22 public hearing on the budget. She cited a recent report calling for more police officer hires in Cobb (Birrell has long wanted to create a new police precinct in Northeast Cobb) and said she wants to be good steward of taxpayer money.
At his town hall, Ott said he is considering moving some services at the East Cobb Government Service Center to the East Cobb Library and possibly closing an “underperforming” library elsewhere in his district, but he hasn’t elaborated.
Here’s his full statement from Friday; he said he’ll be detailing more suggestions on budget cuts.
