Cobb budget hearing Archives

Cobb proposed FY 2021 budget

After the Cobb Board of Commissioners holds public hearings Tuesday night on the proposed fiscal year 2021 budget, they’ll consider several proposals for county CARES Act funding for small business grants and for homeowners.

The budget public hearing starts at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, and you can watch on the county government’s Facebook Live page or on Channel 23, Cobb TV, on Comcast.

The full agenda for the public hearings and other items can be found here.

The two public hearings will allow for public comment on the proposed budget and proposed millage rate.

Because the county is expecting additional revenues due to a rise in the Cobb tax digest and a “rollback” millage rate is not being proposed, that’s considered a tax increase and the public hearings must be held.

The proposed general fund budget of $473 million doesn’t include a merit raise for county employees and would use reserve funds and reduce capital expenses to reach a balance. The property tax millage would not go up.

After the hearings are concluded, commissioners will be considering items related to the federal CARES Act, money appropriated by Congress to local governments to address the economic fallout from COVID-19.

Cobb received $132 million in CARES Act funding, and has spent nearly $70 million of that total.

The biggest chunk so far is $50 million for small business emergency grants to be administered through Select Cobb, the economic development arm of the Cobb Chamber of Commerce.

On Tuesday commissioners will consider two proposals by commissioner Bob Ott of East Cobb to amend a memorandum of understanding for the business grants. Initially, recipients could not already have received funding through the federal Paycheck Protection Act.

But agenda item information indicates that of the 2,078 applicants for the county CARES funding, 72 percent of them have received some federal funding, either through PPP or Small Business Administration CARES Act funds.

Ott’s proposal would allow SelectCobb to award Cobb CARES grants to businesses who’ve received other federal money, and revise certain funding tiers. A list of businesses recommended for the additional funding starts on page 12 of the agenda.

Commissioner Keli Gambrill of North Cobb also is proposing to use $5.7 million in county CARES funding for one-time grants of up to $4,800 for homeowners who’ve gone back to work but need assistance making mortgage payments. For homeowners still out of work, she’s proposing a combination of financial and counseling assistance.

The grants would be administered by HomeFree-USA, a non-profit that helps people build and sustain home ownership.