Cobb commission chairman Mike Boyce

Ousted Cobb Commission Chairman pledges ‘transition in grace’

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Cobb Commission Chairman Mike Boyce

A week after he lost his re-election bid to one of his colleagues, Cobb Commission Chairman Mike Boyce pledged to assist her as she is set to take office in January.

He also expressed dismay over heated disputes involving the presidential election, both at the national and state levels.

At the end of Tuesday’s Cobb Board of Commissioners regular meeting, Boyce congratulated Commissioner Lisa Cupid, who defeated him with 53 percent of the vote.

He’s a Republican who like other countywide GOP office holders was swept out in a Democratic surge. Cupid, currently the only Democrat on the five-member board, will lead a 3-2 Democratic majority when she takes over.

Noting that more than 300,000 people voted in Cobb County, Boyce said that “I think that’s a great example of true democracy in action.

“I think it’s also important as part of this process that we have a transition in grace. That we acknowledge the voice of the people, we hear them and we move on.”

He said it’s important for Cobb citizens “that this message gets out loud and clear to our national and state leaders that this transition is part of the election process.

“I find it extraordinary that four years ago nobody complained about the results of the election, and four years later we have people who question the integrity of the voting process—because they lost.

“That doesn’t reflect well of leadership. That doesn’t happen in Cobb County. That’s not going to happen in Cobb County as long as I’m the chairman.”

Sens. Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue are facing Jan. 5 runoffs against Democrats Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff, respectively, and as the close voting in Georgia in the presidential race appears to have set up a recount.

On Monday, Loeffler and Perdue issued a joint statement demanding that Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger resign over his handling of the elections.

Without citing any specifics, they accused him of mismanagement and a lack of transparency. Raffensperger responded by saying that if there has been any illegal voting it “is unlikely” it would rise to the numbers to change the outcome in Georgia.

“As a Republican, I am concerned about Republicans keeping the U.S. Senate,” Raffensperger said. “I recommend that Senators Loeffler and Perdue start focusing on that.”

(Loeffler and Perdue are holding a runoff rally Wednesday morning at Cobb Republican headquarters in Marietta.)

Democratic president-elect Joe Biden leads Republican president Donald Trump in Georgia by around 10,000 votes, after Trump led by more than 370,000 at the end of election night.

But as has been the case in other states, notably Pennslyvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, Biden moved ahead based largely on absentee ballots.

Biden made a victory speech on Saturday but Trump has not conceded, as his campaign is alleging voter fraud in those states and elsewere. He’s also refusing to cooperate in any transition efforts.

Boyce, who defeated then-chairman Tim Lee in 2016, is a retired Marine colonel who mentioned that it’s Veterans Day on Wednesday, “a great time to remember what we stand for. Many of us fought for freedom and still fight for freedom we all fight for freedom in our own ways.”

He said the best way to to that “is to acknowledge the will and voice of the people and to continue this transition in grace.”

Cupid will become the first Democrat to head county government since longtime chairman Ernest Barrett retired in 1984, and will be the first woman and African-American to hold the position.

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Revised Cobb public safety step-and-grade would cost $5.7M

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Cobb County Chairman Boyce, revised Cobb public safety step and grade

With a new budget season on the horizon, Cobb Commission Chairman Mike Boyce said this week his agenda for 2020 is clear-cut.

He told members of the East Cobb Business Association on Tuesday that his top budget priorities are to keep the current property tax millage rate in place, and continue reducing the amount of money the county borrows from the water fund.

Another major objective he’s bringing up next week is a revised step-and-grade salary proposal for public safety personnel that he said “is a really big deal” for police officers, firefighters, sheriff’s deputies, sworn personnel and others.

“There’s nothing else on my plate,” Boyce said during a luncheon at the Olde Towne Athletic Club.

After the Cobb Board of Commissioners approved a one-time bonus, a seven-percent pay raise and an outline for a step-and-grade plan last year, Boyce floated a more detailed proposal last fall that fell flat with some of his colleagues or public safety leaders.

On Tuesday, Boyce will present a revised proposal that would cost an additional $5.7 million annually: $2.1 million for police, $2 million for fire and $1.6 million for the sheriff’s office.

Boyce wants to fast-track this proposal as well, having it take effect for the pay period starting on March 22, if approved.

According to a summary of the proposal included in the commissioners’ meeting agenda, $3.3 million of that new revenue would come from state title and ad valorem tax (TAVT) collections, with $1.1 million coming from the county’s general fund, and another $1.1 million from the fire fund.

The step-and-grade structure is similar to what Cobb County School District employees receive—annual, incremental and automatic raises based on a combination of factors, including years of service, promotions and performance reviews.

Under the revised proposal, the starting salary for an entry-level police officer, sheriff’s deputy or firefighter would jump from around $41,000 a year to $46,000, with the highest salary at that position earning $70,840.

Salaries for the highest police officer and firefighter positions would range from $67,290 to $103,626. For rank-and-file sheriff’s deputies, that top-end range would be $48,435 to $74,590.

The pay raises would be around three percent; under the draft proposal, however, they would not have been automatic and the salary boost would be subject to a performance review.

The revised numbers are slightly higher than what was presented in October. (For the full step-and-grade breakdown chart, click here, and for other proposed public safety salary ranges, click here.

After the ECBA luncheon, Boyce told East Cobb News said he is confident the new formula “is the issue that will restore confidence” to current public safety personnel, and will help with recruiting and retention.

He said that “we’ve engaged the officers,” and that “the key to me is, can we do this without a millage increase?”

For those critical of the draft proposal in October, the revision may pose similar concerns. East Cobb commissioner Bob Ott said then that the plan wouldn’t be step-and-grade if it needed annual budget approval.

Included in the recommendation in Tuesday’s budget item is language that would “authorize the County Manager to proceed working with county staff to develop a policy to review the Step & Grade Plan on an annual basis to determine effectiveness including an annual step as a top priority in future adopted budgets.”

Boyce, a Republican from East Cobb, is seeking re-election in November. His declared opposition includes South Cobb Democratic commissioner Lisa Cupid and East Cobb Republican Larry Savage, who ran for chairman in 2012 and 2016.

Two years ago, Boyce angered fiscal conservatives with a millage rate increase that didn’t address public safety staffing shortages and morale problems over pay and retention.

During last year’s budget deliberations, public safety staffers and advocates, as well as community leaders, implored commissioners to take measures to address what they termed a “crisis.”

One-time bonuses approved in May were promised as a “first step,” and when commissioners approved the fiscal year 2020 budget in July, it included a seven-percent raise for public safety employees.

Tuesday’s commission meeting is at 7 p.m. in the second floor board room of the Cobb government building, 100 Cherokee St., downtown Marietta. You can read through the full agenda by clicking here.

 

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2020 Cobb budget proposal: Pay raises, Sunday library hours, law enforcement recruitment bonuses

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Cobb budget town hall, Mike Boyce, 2020 Cobb budget proposal

As he pledged during recent town hall meetings, Cobb Commission Chairman Mike Boyce wants to pay county employees more, increase Sunday library hours and address public safety staffing and retention issues in his fiscal year 2020 budget proposal, and all without a millage rate increase.

A draft version of that budget was released on Thursday, and the proposal calls for general fund spending of $440.6 million—$20 million more than the current FY 2019 budget of $420.6 million.

The featured priorities are a three percent raise for all county employees, plus an additional two percent increase for law enforcement officers.

Other additional spending will include increased Sunday library hours, a $2,500 recruitment bonuses for new police officers, reducing the percentage of funds transferred from the Cobb Water System from 10 percent to 9 percent and eliminating fees to use county senior centers.

Here’s a summary of the draft budget proposal; it’s still a preliminary document and a formal proposal will be submitted to the Cobb Board of Commissioners and it’s subject to change.

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Boyce and commissioners have come under fire from public safety personnel and citizens for what they say is a “crisis” in terms of hiring and keeping police and sheriff’s officers, firefighters and EMS personnel.

Boyce’s budget proposal includes the county making law enforcement officer contributions to the state supplemental pension plan, but there is a notable line item in the budget that indicates “unfund 40 police officers and 40 sheriff officers.”

A release accompanying the draft budget proposal said those are not positions being eliminated in FY 2020, but rather that they will not be filled in the next budget.

The budget outline didn’t indicate if Sunday library hours would be extended to all branches; last year the budget included funding for Sunday hours at four regional library branches, including Mountain View.

 

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Cupid announces campaign to become Cobb Commission Chair

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Lisa Cupid of South Cobb, the only Democrat on the five-member Cobb Board of Commissionrs, announced Tuesday she’ll be seeking the countywide office currently held by Republican Mike Boyce of East Cobb. Lisa Cupid, Cobb Commission Chair campaign

She said on her Facebook page she decided to run after “much prayer and conversation with my family,” and offered a brief explanation why:

“Cobb County is on the move. We have new challenges and new opportunities and as we move forward, we must do so in the best interest of all the county.

“We have an opportunity to embrace what is to come and continue to make our county the best place in Georgia to live, work and play. We cannot allow the comfort of the present to scare us from the possibilities of tomorrow.”

The official campaign kickoff event is next Wednesday, April 10, at the Embassy Suites Hotel on Akers Mill Road.

Cupid also has launched a campaign website, Cupid for Cobb.

Cupid was first elected in 2012 after defeating incumbent Woody Thompson. Her background is in mechanical engineering and she is an attorney.

She was the only vote against the 2013 memorandum of understanding with the Atlanta Braves to build what’s now known as SunTrust Park, mainly because of the way the deal was handled.

Since Boyce was elected in 2016, Cupid has been his most reliable ally on the commission, vocally supporting his call for a property tax millage increase. It passed 3-2, over the objections of East Cobb commissioners Bob Ott and JoAnn Birrell.

Cupid, who has advocated for greater economic and business development, transit and community-based policing, also has been Boyce’s vice chair for the last two years.

But the political profile of Cobb, which has been Republican-dominated for years, is changing. Hillary Clinton carried the county in the 2016 presidential campaign. Last year, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams easily won Cobb, as did most other statewide candidates in her party.

Even East Cobb, which has been heavily GOP, now has Democratic representation in Congress (Lucy McBath), one post on the Cobb school board (Charisse Davis) and a State House seat (Mary Frances Williams).

The last Democratic county chairman was Ernest Barrett, who served 1965-1984, shepherding Cobb through dramatic change as it was becoming suburbanized.

Cupid also would become the first female and the first African-American to lead the county government.

Boyce has said he is seeking a second term but has not formally announced his campaign. Ott, who is the longest-serving commissioner, first elected in 2008, will be completing his third term in 2020.

He has not indicated whether he will be running again for his current District 2 seat, which includes some of East Cobb and the Smyrna-Vinings-Cumberland area.

 

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Top East Cobb stories for 2018: Cobb property taxes increased in ‘restoration budget’

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Cobb property taxes increased
Commission chairman Mike Boyce holding a budget town hall meeting at the East Cobb Senior Center. (ECN file)

East Cobb citizens spoke out strongly on both sides of a proposed property tax increase that was approved in July as part of the Cobb fiscal year 2019 budget.

The general fund budget of $454 million includes a boost in the millage rate of 1.7 mills to 8.46. Services like fire and water are included in separate millage rates.

The boost came in spite of a record Cobb tax digest, but the county was facing what Cobb Commission Chairman Mike Boyce said was a $30 million deficit.

The current budget is funding the hiring of additional police and public safety positions, additional road work crews and increased library hours. Boyce calls it a “restoration budget,” as some of those services had been cut back during the recession.

A contentious, months-long public discussion about the budget, including town hall meetings, came after proposed or possible cuts in county services were made public.

They included the proposed closure of the East Cobb Library and the possible closing of other facilities, including The Art Place-Mountain View, the Mountain View Aquatic Center and Fullers Park.

A number of citizens groups formed, including Save Cobb Libraries. East Cobb resident Rachel Slomovitz galvanized countywide support for libraries, as advocates were vocal at town hall meetings.

Boyce, an East Cobb resident and a Republican completing his second year in office, was adamant that taxes had to go up to keep Cobb “a five-star county.”

After the outcry from those fearing further cutbacks in services, Boyce revised the budget to include the preservation of parks and library services, and said “We’re not closing anything.”

But Boyce struggled to find a third commissioner (along with South Cobb’s Lisa Cupid) to vote for a tax increase.

At a summer budget retreat, he grew openly frustrated with his colleagues.

“I get it. You don’t want to stick your neck out. But this isn’t hard. It’s $30 million in an economy of billions. You would think we’re living in Albania! I just don’t understand.”

Cobb budget
East Cobb commissioners Bob Ott, left, and JoAnn Birrell voted against the FY 2019 budget. (ECN file)

East Cobb commissioners Bob Ott and JoAnn Birrell voted against the final budget proposal. Commissioner Bob Weatherford of North Cobb, in a re-election battle, indicated ahead of his runoff that he would support the increase. The day after he lost convincingly to Keli Gambrill, an opponent of a tax hike, he cast the decisive vote in favor of Boyce’s budget, and said he had no regrets.

“The only thing I’m running for now is the hills, but I do not want to leave the county worse than than when I got here,” he said.

A few weeks after the vote, Ott said the only benefit of the tax increase for his constituents in District 2 was a Cobb DOT work crew.

Among other things, he said he didn’t like the way the proposed budget cuts were presented to the public, which he heard plenty about from citizens: “I tell them that the services that are being threatened to be taken away were never proposals that came before the board.

“A borrowed quote from William S. Buckley sums up this tax increase and budget: ‘What do we care how much we—the government—owe so long as we owe it to ourselves? On with the spending. Tax and tax, spend and spend, elect and elect . . .’ ”

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Fired Cobb Planning Commissioner Thea Powell comments at final meeting

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Cobb Planning Commissioner Thea Powell, who said she was being replaced by Cobb Commission Chairman Mike Boyce, offered some remarks Tuesday morning before her last meeting.Cobb Planning Commissioner Thea Powell

An East Cobb resident who also served twice on the Cobb Board of Commissioners, said she received a letter from Boyce on July 26 notifying her of her termination, effective at the end of August.

She said Boyce had never expressed to her any disagreements about her votes on zoning issues, and said no reason was given for her firing. Powell noted that the letter came not long after she spoke out as a citizen against his proposed property tax increase.

In her comments, Powell made references to freedom of speech, saying that “no government should have the arrogance to believe that it alone knows what is in the best interest of its citizens.”

She thanked her colleagues on the five-member Planning Commission, who are appointed by county commissioners, and urged them “to continue to listen to all who come before” them.

She also thanked the county zoning staff and citizens and said “you have and will continue to make a difference.”

At the last public hearing before the budget was adopted, on Aug. 17, Powell referred to budget presentation information supporting a tax increase “a dog’s breakfast.”

She said that in spite of a 1.7-mills increase in the general fund that Boyce had sought in a record tax digest year, the county was spending more money than it had, and feared there may a repeat of the same situation next year.

(Commissioners voted 3-2 to raise the millage rate in adopting a $454 million budget).

Powell has a long history of public and civic service in Cobb County, starting with the East Cobb Civic Association. She served as a commissioner from Northeast Cobb’s District 3 from 1988-91 and also on an interim basis in the same post in 2010 when Tim Lee resigned to run for chairman.

Powell served on the Cobb Development Authority after being appointed by East Cobb Commissioner Bob Ott. In 2011, he tried having her appointed to the Cobb Citizens’ Oversight Committee.

At the time, there was speculation that she might run against Lee in 2012 (she did not), and her nomination was thwarted by the commissioners. Ott later hired her as his full-time staff assistant.

Powell also was appointed by Cobb Board of Education member David Chastain to serve on the school district’s Facilities and Technology advisory board. In 2016, she was a campaign adviser to Boyce in 2016, when he upended Lee.

After he took office, Boyce appointed her to the planning commission. Powell said Tuesday she looks forward to “having the opportunity to use my freedom of speech unencumbered.”

Some of Powell’s supporters have created an online petition.

 

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Boyce continues Cobb tax increase push as commissioners begin public hearings

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Cobb tax increase
Mike Boyce he wants Cobb to return to a more stabilized millage rate that existed before the recession: “Let’s just get to one number and leave it alone.” East Cobb News photos by Wendy Parker

In his final town hall meeting, Mike Boyce told East Cobb citizens Monday night that his proposed Cobb tax increase of 1.7 mills is necessary because it “keeps everything open that’s open now” and would restore some popular and necessary services to their pre-recession levels.

In a packed black box studio at the Sewell Mill Library and Cultural Center, the Cobb commission chairman received a mixed response for his call to return Cobb to “the golden days” of a stable millage rate before the recession and provide the level of services worthy of what he has called a “five-star county.”

He wants to use the 1.7 mills not only to cover a projected $30 million budget deficit for fiscal year 2019, but to add another $20 million for resumption of services that have been affected by budget cuts for several years.

“What is it that you want pay for, what you used to have and that you want again?” he asked the crowd, drawing some applause.

The Cobb Board of Commissioners will hold the first of three required public hearings on the tax increase proposal Tuesday at 9 a.m. It’s on the second floor of the Cobb government building, 100 Cherokee St., in downtown Marietta.

Cobb tax increase

 

Monday’s meeting was the seventh budget town hall Boyce has held around the county over the last month, and like the others he asked citizens to let their commissioners know their budget priorities.

His proposed $454 million FY 2019 budget is a 12 percent increase over the current $405 million budget, and would raise the general fund millage rate from 6.76 to 8.46 mills.

Boyce wants to spend an additional $15 million for public safety, including the hiring of 23 police officers and providing officers with body cameras.

He would expand library hours to Sunday at select locations and restore hours to what they were before the recession.

He also wants to restore maintenance positions in Cobb DOT, including the hiring of mowers for rights-of-way on county roads. Currently those are positions that are contracted out for six months, but bringing them under county auspices would allow for year-round work.

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In the run-up to the town halls, staff department head lists of potential cuts for commissioners to consider were made public, and quickly galvanized supporters of the county library and parks systems.

Those items included Fullers Park, the home of East Side Baseball, and the Fullers Recreation Center, where East Marietta Basketball is based.

Cobb tax increase
Members of the Cobb Master Gardeners have been vocal in asking to preserve the UGA Cobb Extension Service.

Richard Benson, a coach, volunteer and board member of East Side Baseball, brought several members of the East Side Chargers team with him, and wearing their same jersey, told Boyce that “I can’t fathom the thought that they might not have a place to play baseball.”

Boyce said the list was only a “working product,” and that “I know of no commissioner who wanted to close a park at anytime.”

Not only are current parks facilities all preserved in Boyce’s budget, he told the audience, to applause, that “we don’t have enough parks.”

Also in attendance, wearing light green shirts, were members of the Cobb Master Gardeners, who work closely with the UGA Cobb Extension Service, which had been initially targeted for possible closure but is funded in Boyce’s budget proposal.

Tax increase opponents also were out in force, and some demanded that Boyce point to spending cuts to help alleviate the deficit. Only one slide presented savings thus far, a combined $1.7 million.

Boyce said his budget staff is continuing to do that. “We’re not done finding efficiencies,” he said.

Cobb tax increase
East Cobb citizen Debbie Fisher, a strong opponent of a tax increase.

Commissioner Bob Ott of East Cobb, who was not at Monday’s town hall in his District 2, has said he wants to see significant budget cuts before he would agree to any kind of tax increase.

He did attend a public meeting held Friday by opponents, including Debbie Fisher and Jan Barton of East Cobb. They handed out flyers on Monday from the Georgia Taxpayers Association, a petition to “cut wasteful spending and property taxes.”

Fisher inquired about what she claimed was $106 million in excess funding from the 2005 and 2011 Cobb SPLOSTs, but Boyce told her “there’s nothing left.” It got a little heated when she asked why she couldn’t find any related documents online. Boyce said she was welcome to come to county offices anytime.

In a post-town hall letter, Barton, who previously tried to raise the same point with Boyce but was passed over, wrote the following:

“We felt that citizens with dissenting questions/opinions against the tax hike were not allowed to ask questions in Town Halls and wanted to give everyone a forum where the other side of the story could be explained. A Town Hall is supposed to be for all citizens/taxpayers.”

After the town hall, Benson said he felt better about what he heard from Boyce about the parks, and that he’s been communicating with commissioners about keeping them open.

East Cobb resident Rachel Slomovitz, who created the Save Cobb Libraries group and started a petition to raise taxes that she said has received more than 2,100 signatures, said after the town hall that “there’s still so much uncertainty in the air.”

While she supports Boyce’s budget and commissioner Lisa Cupid’s call for restoring services, she’s still “strongly encouraging” the three other commissioners as well.

“We’re asking for books and baseball,” she said, pointing toward the East Side Chargers players. “The basics.”

Commissioners will hold public hearings on July 17 and 25, with budget adoption also scheduled for July 25.

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Formal Cobb budget proposal to be presented Monday, followed by East Cobb town hall

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Cobb budget proposal
Cobb commission chairman Mike Boyce wants a 1.7 mills property tax increase to cover a projected $30 million deficit. (East Cobb News file photo)

The details of the fiscal year 2019 Cobb budget proposal will be made at a Cobb Board of Commissioners work session on Monday, with a final town hall meeting Monday night in East Cobb.

Cobb commission chairman Mike Boyce has taken the outlines of his proposed $453 million budget around the county to the public in the last month. Monday’s work session starts at 1:30 p.m., followed by his final town hall meeting at 7 p.m. at the Sewell Mill Library and Cultural Center (2051 Lower Roswell Road).

The county has produced an interactive, Cobb’s Budget Journey, to detail the deficit, as well as spending and tax rate history over nearly three decades.

Boyce is proposing a general fund property tax increase of 1.7 mills, which would cover the $30 million gap.

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Critics of the tax increase held a town hall meeting of their own Friday, and they included East Cobb resident Debbie Fisher, who put together a scathing critique of Boyce’s budget. Click here for the PDF: Town Hall Presentation -Revised.

Entitled “Truth or Fiction,” the PDF points out that Boyce hasn’t proposed any spending cuts and denounces what it calls the “homestead exemption blame game.”

It also suggests some “hard choices” that include cutting the 5-10 percent of low-performing county employees, outsource fleet management, human resources and the county attorney’s office and increase employee health care and pension contributions.

“We don’t have a revenue problem! We have a spending problem,” declares the presentation. “No more taxes until you cut spending.”

On Tuesday, commissioners will hold the first of three required public hearings on the budget, at 9 a.m. in their chambers on the 2nd floor of the Cobb government building, 100 Cherokee St., in downtown Marietta.

The other public hearings are scheduled on July 17 at 6:30 p.m., and on July 25 at 7 p.m., in the same location. Commissioners are set to adopt the budget on July 25.

 

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Citizens against tax increase to hold ‘Cobb Budget 101’ town hall Friday

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A group of Cobb citizens opposed to a proposed property tax increase is holding a town hall meeting Friday night in Marietta that’s called “Cobb Budget 101.”Cobb Budget 101

The group includes East Cobb resident Debbie Fisher, and the town hall takes place from 6:30-8:30 Friday at the offices of the Cobb County Republican Party (799 Roswell St.).

It’s not an official Cobb GOP event. Here’s what Jan Barton, another East Cobber involved in efforts to thwart a tax increase, is sending out about the event:

A group of concerned Cobb citizens will present Cobb Budget 101, a different road map from the one presented by the Cobb County Chairman. We will make a case on what caused the purported $30M deficit, how we can remedy the shortfall without a tax increase and present the real history on the Millage Vs. the Tax Digest! There will be a Q&A with budget and finance experts on a panel to answer your questions.

They’ve been vocally opposed to Cobb Commission Chairman Mike Boyce’s proposed 1.7-mills increase in the general fund to solve a projected $30 million budget. Boyce and county budget staff have produced a Cobb Budget Journey interactive that has been featured at a series of town hall meetings and posted on county government web pages.

The final town hall Boyce is having is in East Cobb on Monday, starting at 7 p.m. at the Sewell Mill Library and Cultural Center (2051 Lower Roswell Road.)

The first of three formal Cobb Board of Commissioners public hearings on the budget proposal required by law takes place on Tuesday.

Budget adoption is scheduled for July 25.

Here’s Boyce’s latest budget video, posted on Tuesday.

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Boyce takes case for Cobb tax increase to the public

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Mike Boyce, Cobb tax increase

An overflow crowd at the East Cobb Senior Center heard Mike Boyce defend his proposed fiscal year 2019 budget of $453 million that would result in a Cobb tax increase.

The Cobb commission chairman’s goal, as he asserted several times during a nearly 90-minute town hall meeting Monday night, is to return to a “level, sustainable millage rate” the county enjoyed before the recession.

He said his proposed increase of 1.7 mills as part of revised budget from an original proposed hike of 1.1 mills, would generate $50 million in additional revenue per year.

Not only would that solve the projected $30 million budget deficit for FY 2019, but it would also replenish reserve funding commissioners have used in recent years to avoid a tax hike.

Revised Cobb budget, millage chart
Cobb government included this tax chart in its revised budget proposal last week.

Several weeks after possible closures of libraries, parks and other “desired” services were made public, Boyce denied threatening to close any of those facilities.

But he said if his fellow commissioners couldn’t agree at least to an extra 1.1 mills, “we will close things. But that’s up to the commissioners.”

After urging citizens to communicate with their commissioners about ensuring those services with a tax increase, there was vigorous applause in the room.

Many citizens were wearing stickers in support of Cobb libraries. Others came on behalf of parks, recreation centers and The Art Place, located next door to the senior center and included on a draft list of options for closure.

Others were opposed to any tax increase, including Lance Lamberton of the Cobb Taxpayers Association, who brought a sign saying “Cut Waste.”

Monday’s meeting was the first of several Boyce is holding through early July, before commissioners are to adopt the budget by the end of next month.

He prefaced his remarks with charts predicting Cobb’s budget shortfall in 2014, with significant rising costs anticipated for the county pension fund, a pay increase for roughly half of county employees and public safety needs.

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In public statements, Boyce has noted for several weeks how Cobb’s millage rate has decreased steadily since 1990, even though the county population has risen dramatically, from 450,000 then to more than 750,000 today.

After a 1.51 mills increase in 2011 during the recession, the general fund millage rate went down, again, including a decrease in 2016, right before Boyce defeated then-chairman Tim Lee in a runoff.

Currently, it’s 6.76 mills.

Last year, commissioners spent nearly $20 million in reserves to balance a $405 million general fund budget, leaving only $2.6 million on hand now.

“We simply need to buy things we haven’t bought,” Boyce said.

His revised budget would fund an additional 23 police officers, and provide body cameras for all officers as part of a public safety budget increase of $15 million.

Citizens peppered Boyce with questions about their tax bills, county funding for the Braves stadium and more. While some wondered if what he was proposing was enough, especially about public safety, others didn’t like hearing Boyce adamantly defend raising taxes.

When Ellen Smith (pictured above), an attorney who occasionally argues zoning cases in front of the commissioners, suggested an increase of 3 mills, in part to fully fund the county’s animal services, some citizens loudly grumbled and yelled out, “ask a question!”

When another citizen asked Boyce if he would “be back here next year” should his budget and tax demands not be sufficient, he said that “I don’t know what the future brings.

“But I don’t want to be back here next year.”

Boyce’s final town hall is back in East Cobb on July 9, at the Sewell Mill Library and Cultural Center at 7 p.m.

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Revised Cobb budget proposal seeks tax hike, keeps libraries and parks open

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revised Cobb budget
Cobb Commission Chairman Mike Boyce holds his first budget town hall meeting Monday at the East Cobb Senior Center. (East Cobb News file photo)

A revised Cobb budget for fiscal year 2019 would keep open libraries and parks that had been put on draft lifts as options for closures because of the county’s projected $30 million deficit.

The revised budget, which Boyce explained in his weekly video (see bottom of this post), comes to $453 million for the general fund. The current budget for the general fund is $405 million.

In addition, the proposed budget would would add police officer positions and purchase body cameras for law enforcement and have Sunday opening hours at regional libraries (including the Mountain View branch in East Cobb).

It also would keep open the UGA Cobb Extension Service and the county animal services department. Those agencies also have been mentioned for possible elimination.

The millage rate increase he is seeking is 1.7 mills, above the 1.1-mill hike he had initially sought. While the 1.1 mills could cover the $30 million gap, Boyce said additional funds are necessary to restore county services to what they were before the recession.

He said based on feedback from Cobb citizens, especially in regards to libraries and parks facilities, the message is clear.

“We’re not closing anything,” Boyce said. “From what I’ve heard and seen, people like these amenities and want us to keep them. But I have to find a way to pay for them.”

Boyce, who begins a series of budget town hall meetings on Monday at the East Cobb Senior Center, also laid out how much a 1.7-mill increase would cost property owners (see chart below), with annual jumps ranging from $170 to $1,700, based the the taxable value of their homes.

Revised Cobb budget, millage chart

After a testy Cobb budget retreat this week, Boyce got no “clear direction” from other commissioners about what proposal to take to the public. East Cobb commissioner Bob Ott has maintained that he wants to see more spending cuts before he would support any kind of increase.

Northeast Cobb commissioner JoAnn Birrell has said “everything is on the table” but that she didn’t favor shutting down parks facilities.

East Cobb facilities that have appeared on draft lists prepared by department heads and made public include the East Cobb Library, Fullers Park and Fullers Recreation Center, the Mountain View Aquatic Center, Mountain View Community Center and The Art Place.

Other budget details include restoring eliminated Cobb DOT maintenance positions and increasing right-of-way mowing contracts. Proposed cuts include $2 million in local grant matches and information services contracts.

Boyce said he’s gotten many e-mails from citizens complaining about unmowed grass along county roads and potholes.

On Wednesday, Cobb government asked in a social media posting for the public’s patience in handling a long backlog of transportation maintenance calls. It said Cobb DOT received 300 requests for service in a seven-day period and that the backlog includes 1,800 work orders.

“At current staffing levels, DOT is completing about 20 work orders per day,” according to the message.

“Do we want to have a county with a high quality of life serviced by the best staff in Georgia?” Boyce said in his video. “Or do we want to live in a mediocre county staffed and funded by a sub-par budget?”

He also said that “these town halls make a difference.”

Monday’s town hall meeting at the East Cobb Senior Center (3332 Sandy Plains Road) starts at 7 p.m. The town halls continue through July 9 at the Sewell Mill Library, followed by three public budget hearings that are required by law.

Budget adoption is scheduled for July 25.

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Boyce: ‘No decisions’ have been made about Cobb budget cuts

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Mike Boyce, Cobb budget cuts
Cobb commission chairman Mike Boyce explained the budget situation to the East Cobb Business Association in January. (East Cobb News file photo)

A few hours before holding a budget retreat, Cobb Commission Chairman Mike Boyce said Tuesday morning that no decisions have been made about how to close a projected $30 million deficit.

UPDATE: Cobb chairman proposes revised budget, keeping parks and libraries open

During a public comment session at the Board of Commissioners meeting, several East Cobb Boy Scouts asked that the Mountain View Aquatic Center and The Art Place not be closed.

Those facilities were included on a draft list prepared by the Cobb Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs Department and made public last week. They outlined possible cost savings as options for balancing the budget and include several parks, pools and community centers around the county.

Also on the list are the Mountain View Community Center, Fullers Park and the Fullers Recreation Center in East Cobb.

“All that it is is a working document,” Boyce said, explaining that county department heads have been asked to be prepared to answer questions commissioners may have about the cost of individual facilities as they begin budget deliberations.

The retreat is taking place Tuesday afternoon at the Cobb Civic Center.

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Thus far, however, such options have been publicized only for senior services, libraries and parks and recreation. Also listed for possible elimination are the UGA Cobb Extension Service and Keep Cobb Beautiful.

Boyce had a town hall at the East Cobb Senior Center in January to hear from the public about fee increases at senior centers.

In February, a draft list of nearly $3 million in possible service cuts to the library system included the full closure of the East Cobb Library.

A formal budget proposal by Boyce has not been released as he prepares for several budget town hall meetings, starting next Monday at the East Cobb Senior Center. Another town hall will take place July 9 at the Sewell Mill Library and Cultural Center.

“If you think it’s hard for you, it’s hard for us,” Boyce told the scouts.

He said that during the budget town halls, “we are going to find out what we’re going to continue to fund” based on public feedback, with the goal of producing a budget that “reflects our conservative values.”

Boyce has suggested a 1.1-mills increase in the property tax rate that would cover the deficit. But East Cobb’s commissioners are cool to that. District 2’s Bob Ott said he wouldn’t support a hike without seeing considerable savings presented first. JoAnn Birrell of District 3, who is seeking re-election in November, said she isn’t in favor of a tax increase either.

The parks and recs draft list identified around $3.3 million in savings, and about a third of that, $1.1 million, is in Birrell’s Northeast Cobb district.

She also reminded the Boy Scouts that no decisions have been made and asked for their and other feedback at the town halls.

“We’d like to hear from you again,” she said.

An East Cobb resident whom commissioners have heard from often renewed her concerns about library cuts during the public comment period Tuesday.

Rachel Slomovitz, who organized the Save Cobb Libraries group, said she has more than 2,100 signatures on a petition, and pleaded with commissioners not to “take away the most elemental of services.”

She said Cobb could have “book deserts” if steep cuts are made, citizens will suffer from having few computers for job-hunting and students will lose additional learning resources outside school.

“When you take away a library, there are outcomes you cannot imagine,” said Slomovitz, who supports a tax increase to prevent library cuts.

“I am here also to ask why you don’t have the courage to do what’s right for Cobb. Why make Cobb citizens feel as though they are about to lose everything?”

The fiscal year 2019 budget is scheduled to be adopted on July 25, after the town halls and three public hearings.

 

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EDITOR’S NOTE: The scapegoats of the Cobb budget crisis

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East Cobb Library, Cobb budget crisis
The East Cobb Library has been in operation only since 2010 at Parkaire Landing Shopping Center. (East Cobb News photos by Wendy Parker)

The Cobb budget crisis will soon be addressed in serious detail by the Cobb Board of Commissioners, which is holding a budget retreat on Tuesday.

The week after that, next Monday, June 18 to be exact, at the East Cobb Senior Center, budget town halls will start around the county. There will be another one in our community, on July 9, at the Sewell Mill Library and Cultural Center.

UPDATE: Cobb chairman proposes revised budget, keeping parks and libraries open

Cobb County government is facing a $30 million budget deficit for fiscal year 2019. We have known this and been told this for months.

That’s as big a deficit as the county faced during the worst of the recession.

Yet only a small handful of “options” for addressing this gap, submitted by a few department heads, have been made public.

They’re the departments that tend to get people’s emotions riled up: senior services, libraries and, this past week, parks, pools and recreation centers.

Here we go again.

Like the proposed library cuts, the cuts on parks and rec “draft list,” if enacted, would absolutely crush the provision of popular services.

Like the proposed library cuts, closing all of the parks and rec facilities on that list wouldn’t do much to close the deficit.

In East Cobb, the “draft list” includes Fullers Park and the Fullers Recreation Center, the Mountain View Aquatic Center, The Art Place and the Mountain View Community Center.

A little more than $3 million, to be exact, is what the parks and rec savings would add up to countywide. The library cuts would amount to less than that, roughly $2.9 million.

Along with new membership fees and increases for classes and rentals at senior centers, the possible elimination of the UGA Cobb Extension Service and shutting down Keep Cobb Beautiful (also on the parks and rec list), that still doesn’t equal what the county spends every year to pay off its obligations for SunTrust Park and other costs for Atlanta Braves games and events there.

Sewell Mill Library and Cultural Center
The work of local artists on display at the $10.3 million Sewell Mill Library and Cultural Center, which opened last December.

As I wrote back in February: SunTrust is untouchable, having been placed on the “must” list of budget items that are required to be appropriated by commissioners every year.

Parks, libraries and senior services are not. They’re merely on the “desired” list.

Yet the cost of delivering services has grown the most in public safety, transportation, courts, community development and water and sewer.

Library hours have not been added back to their pre-Recession totals. Cobb’s unwillingness to have Sunday library hours anywhere except the Switzer branch, but only during the school year, is ridiculous.

The library system’s budget details were laid out in painful detail months ago. Employees in these endangered departments know their jobs may be eliminated.

Related stories

Why are these low-cost, high-impact services, which add exponentially to our qualify of life, vulnerable to being gutted with a record tax digest predicted for 2018?

Citizens skeptical of paying higher property taxes think it’s a ploy by Cobb Commission Chairman Mike Boyce to get a millage rate increase. He wants to add 1.1 mills to your property tax bill, which would just about cover the $30 million.

Getting you stoked up over the possibility of losing your library, or park, is an old tactic. His predecessor, Tim Lee, did the same thing. It worked during the Recession, when tax rates went up.

The county released a “Cobb budget journey” explainer this past week with information to bolster the argument that our current general fund millage rate is just about tapped out.

We’re paying a lower millage rate now than in 1990, despite the Cobb population having grown from 450,000 then to around 750,000 now. The tax hike imposed during the Recession was brought down a couple years ago, foolishly, by Lee, with a millage rate reduction right before losing his runoff with Boyce, and just as SunTrust became fully operational.

That vote only added to the budget jam that exists now.

I’m not wild about a tax increase either, and many homeowners are already paying higher tax bills because their assessments have gone up, some dramatically.

Instead of grazing around the edges, threatening to close parks and libraries and the Cobb Safety Village and whatnot, it’s time to tackle the truly big-ticket items. There’s got to be an honest conversation about what it really costs to properly serve a fast-growing county with basic, local government services.

Cobb is no longer the sleepy bedroom community it was when our family moved here in the mid-1960s. Many who simply wanted a quiet refuge in a ranch house on a wooded lot (some built by my father, a now-retired home contractor) are finding the density, traffic, noise and increasingly urban feel to Cobb, and even East Cobb, alarming.

So do I. That’s why a visit to a park, or a library has become something much more than a treat. For me, it’s almost essential to do this, at least once a week, or when I can.

But the truth is we require more public safety services, more court services, more transportation services, more zoning services, more water and sewer services. The current millage rate, even what Boyce has proposed, likely will not cover all of what’s required in a few years. Even if he gets his wish, it may not be enough.

Ebenezer Road park
Cobb commissioners recently spent $1.7 million to purchase land on Ebenezer Road for a future passive park.

Some question the wisdom of spending millions on future park land and opening new facilities built with SPLOST money, but that operate with county budget funds.

Those are valid issues, as is the subject of SPLOST reform. These topics are likely to be hashed out during the hot summer budget months ahead. They have to be part of an eventual effort to get ahead of budget issues.

In order for that to happen, Cobb leaders have to offer something of a vision for the county that hasn’t been forthcoming for years, even before the recession.

I’m admittedly a bleeding heart for parks and libraries, but scapegoating the services that Cobb has nickeled-and-dimed for decades, and playing a game of emotional blackmail with the public, isn’t the way to do that.

 

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Cobb budget meetings begin with commissioners retreat next week

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The month of June has been scheduled for Cobb budget meetings and a series of town halls, starting June 18 at the East Cobb Senior Center.

UPDATE: Cobb chairman proposes revised budget, keeping parks and libraries open

But before that, the Board of Commissioners will gather next week for a budget retreat.

That meeting is next Tuesday, June 12, at 1 p.m. in the Hudgins Hall Conference/Multipurpose Room of the Cobb County Civic Center (548 South Marietta Parkway).

Cobb Commission Chairman Mike Boyce has advocated raising the millage rate on property taxes as a way for the county to continue to deliver what he calls “five-star” services.

The county government is facing an estimated deficit for fiscal year 2019 of at least $30 million.

Related coverage

Boyce has initially suggested a millage increase of 1.1 mills (which would generate an extra $30 million in revenue) to the current general fund rate of 6.76.

In his weekly video update with county communications director Ross Cavitt (view below), he said that “1.1 mills just puts the finger in the dike.”

A full proposal to fund a balanced budget hasn’t been presented. However, the head of the county library system has proposed cutting nearly a quarter of the system’s $12 million budget and closing the East Cobb Library.

East Cobb’s commissioners generally have opposed property tax increases. Bob Ott of District 2 has said that he wouldn’t support an increase without seeing substantial cuts first. JoAnn Birrell of District 3 won her GOP primary last week after publicly opposing raising property taxes.

Cobb budget meetings, Cobb Millage Rate Chart 1990-2018

In the video, Boyce showed charts illustrating how Cobb’s millage rate has steadily come down over the last 25 or so years, being raised to address the recession. Two years ago, then-chairman Tim Lee, facing Boyce in a runoff, proposed an overall millage rate reduction to 9.85 (and 6.66 for the general fund) that passed, with Ott and Birrell voting with him.

“We have had a lower millage rate although our population has increased by more than 300,000” since the 1990s, Boyce said.

The town hall meetings are scheduled around the county, including another in East Cobb on July 9 at the Sewell Mill Library and Cultural Center.

Commissioners will hold public hearings on the budget and millage rate on July 10, 27 and 25, with adoption of both scheduled for July 25.

 

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Cobb budget town halls in June begin at East Cobb Senior Center

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A number of Cobb budget town halls will be held by Commission Chairman Mike Boyce in June, and the first will take place on June 18 at the East Cobb Senior Center.

The town hall starts at 7 p.m. The East Cobb Senior Center is located at 3322 Sandy Plains Road.

UPDATE: Cobb chairman proposes revised budget, keeping parks and libraries open

The meetings will take place a month before the Cobb Board of Commissioners is expected to adopt a fiscal year 2019 budget.

Cobb budget officials are projecting a deficit between $30 million and $55 million, but thus far the only proposed cuts have been to the Cobb library system, including the possible closing of East Cobb Library.

Related stories

Boyce has been suggesting that the Cobb general fund millage rate of 6.76 may not be enough to fund the FY 2019 budget, but he hasn’t proposed an increase or specified what a sufficient levy may be.

That’s despite some good news last week from Cobb Tax Assessor’s Office that this year’s projected tax digest of $36 billion would be a record, and 7.5 percent higher than last year’s record of $33.6 billion.

Boyce has held several town halls meetings before at the East Cobb senior center, including last summer, when he unsuccessfully supported a millage rate to fund the 2008 Cobb parks bond referendum.

He also heard from seniors upset by the imposition of a membership fee to use Cobb senior centers and fee increases for programs and classes held at them.

Other budget town halls are scheduled for June 19 at the North Cobb Senior Center, June 20 at the Cobb Senior Wellness Center in Marietta, June 25 at the Freeman Poole Senior Center in Smyrna, June 27 at the West Cobb Senior Center and July 9 at the Sewell Mill Library and Cultural Center.

 

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Cobb tax digest projected to grow by 7.5 percent in 2018

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Mike Boyce, Cobb tax digest

The good news for county homeowners is that the Cobb tax digest is projected to grow by 7.5 percent in 2018, to around $36 billion in assessed value, after a record $33 billion total in 2017.

The bad news is that growth won’t solve the estimated $30 million-$55 million Cobb government budget deficit that’s being estimated for fiscal year 2019.

UPDATE: Cobb chairman proposes revised budget, keeping parks and libraries open

What that all that means for your property tax bill depends on a number of factors, including assessments, eligibility for homestead and senior exemptions and whether or not the Cobb Board of Commissioners approves of a possible millage rate increase to help cover the deficit.

Residential property tax assessments will go out in early May, and the tax digest value is finalized in July.

Earlier projections had the Cobb tax digest rising by around 5.5 percent. Cobb budget director Bill Volckmann said that 7.5 percent growth, if that comes to pass, would add around an additional $6 million to general fund coffers.

The average home value in Cobb is now around $285,000, and the assessed value of the Atlanta Braves’ property near SunTrust Park in the Cumberland area has grown from $188 million in 2017 to $360 million this year, according to the Cobb tax assessor’s office.

In a presentation this week, tax assessor Stephen White most Cobb homeowners have a “floating” homestead exemption, which means that the assessed value of that a property remains frozen and does not increase the amount of the general fund.

“The floating homestead on the county general portion of your tax bill means your assessed value stays the same from year-to-year,” White said. “We might increase the fair market value of your home, but the assessed value on a homesteaded property stays the same from the time you purchased the property.”

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The general fund portion of the county budget pays for police, sheriff’s office, transportation, parks and libraries, courts and other general government operational expenses.

There’s a separate millage rate that funds fire and emergency services, and the Cobb County School District also levies its own millage rate.

Those categories, White said, likely will benefit from the tax digest growth. The Cobb general fund, on the other hand, is in more severe straits than the current FY 2018 budget of $405 million.

That was balanced with some program cuts and with the use of nearly $20 million in contingency funding.

Cobb Commission chairman Mike Boyce (above) is suggesting that the present general fund millage rate of 6.76 might not be enough to fund the FY 2019 budget, but he hasn’t offered any recommendations.

“We knew this $30 million hole was coming years ago,” Boyce said in a statement issued by Cobb government, “and because the floating exemption prevents the general fund from fully benefitting from the tax digest increase, the board must bring forth a millage rate that will support a quality of life Cobb residents expect.”

Already he’s come under fire for proposing a membership fee and other increased charges for senior services.

Major proposed cuts to the Cobb library system also call for the closure of the East Cobb Library, which also has resulted in a vocal outcry.

District 2 Cobb commissioner Bob Ott, whose district includes much of East Cobb, vowed that he will fight to keep open that branch, one of the busiest in the county, but is asking constituents to communicate with his colleagues about that.

He also has said he does not support any tax increase without finding other budget savings.

 

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East Cobb seniors sound off on proposed fee increases at town hall

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East Cobb Senior Town Hall meeting
Cobb commission chairman Mike Boyce faced a full house at the East Cobb Senior Center Friday (East Cobb News photos by Wendy Parker)

Before Cobb Commission Chairman Mike Boyce made his case for increasing charges for senior services, including the creation of an annual membership fee, he issued an apology.

Not for the idea of raising fees. As he reiterated several times, often to the derision of some in attendance at a town hall meeting at the East Cobb Senior Center Friday morning, “We’re all in this together” in addressing Cobb’s mounting budget problems.

Rather, Boyce regretted the way the announcement was handled in November, when commissioners voted to impose an annual $60 membership fee to use Cobb senior centers and in some cases charge steep increases in renting rooms for events at those facilities.

Those new charges are set to go into effect on Feb. 1, but because of strong pushback from seniors, Boyce scheduled a series of town hall meetings this month.

The first was at the East Cobb center on Sandy Plains Road, one of the busiest of the five senior centers run by the county, and with a robust schedule of activities and organizations that meet there.

“You’re angry because you feel like we’re shoving this down your throat,” Boyce said to a standing-room only crowd. “That’s why we’re here.”

East Cobb Senior Town Hall

Many were angry about any increases in general, with some citing living on fixed incomes, and wondering how much the new charges would help solve a budget deficit projected to be $30 million or more for fiscal 2019.

“I’m hoping it’s only $30 million,” Boyce said, rattling off a long list of things that the county isn’t buying these days—including public safety and senior services vehicles—due to the budget crunch.

He deflected criticism that the county’s obligation for SunTrust Park is contributing to the budget woes, which were $20 million for fiscal 2018. Cobb pays $8.4 million annually for its share of the new home of the Atlanta Braves.

When an attendee charged that the county is “Mickey Mousing us around” instead of addressing funding for the stadium, Boyce was adamant:

“The Braves didn’t create this hole. All they did was accelerate the inevitable.”

Of the $405 million fiscal year general fund budget for 2018, around $170 million is earmarked for required services under state law: public safety, courts, roads and water.

A longer list of “essential” services includes code enforcement, finance and budget and planning and zoning. That totals another $146 million.

The longest list of all, “desired” services, has the smallest budget sum of the three: $86 million, and it’s where the budgets for popular programs for parks, libraries and seniors all come from.

Each senior center costs around $250,000 a year to operate, but county officials estimate only 6,100 of Cobb’s 165,000 seniors use them at all.

When a senior asked why the elderly are being asked to share the burden this way, Boyce offered his standard response—”because we’re all in this together”—to a chorus of boos and groans.

“You may not like the answer, but if we don’t fill this [budget] hole, we may have to close places,” he said.

East Cobb senior town hall

Boyce faced greater opposition to the room rate increases, which in some cases would be 200 or 300 percent higher than what they are now, as well as class fees.

Currently, the Foxtrotters Dance Club pays $120 for its monthly events, and the Marietta Golden K Kiwanis Club pays the same amount for several meetings a year at the East Cobb center.

Those rentals would go up to $200 an event. Class fees would go up from $48 to $112 and $160 for painting classes and from $30 to $50 for yoga and tai chi sessions.

Some worried that their fellow seniors may drop out of coming to the centers, which have become a vital social hub.

One suggestion Boyce said he definitely would take back to the commissioners is a $5 monthly fee, which may be more affordable for some seniors who can’t pay $60 in advance.

After the town hall meeting, East Cobb senior resident Chris Vail said he appreciated Boyce taking the heat, and for apologizing at the outset.

Vail is member of the Golden K Kiwanis, which has met at the East Cobb Senior Center for 22 years. He’s concerned that higher charges for room rental and other club activities would cost the organization $12,000 a year, about the same amount of money the group raises for various children’s charities every year.

“That would put us out of business,” said Vail, a retired police officer from Albany, Ga., and a former Congressional investigator. “There’s a lot of benefit for us to be here.”

He said a user fee for seniors would be fine with him “as long as it is reasonable.” Vail said while he was glad for the chance to be heard, “I only pray that they will listen to us.”

Additional town hall meetings will take place week at the North Cobb, West Cobb, Freeman Poole and Marietta senior centers. The commissioners will discuss the feedback at a work session later this month before scheduling a vote on the new fees.

East Cobb Senior Town Hall

 

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Cobb commissioners go on retreat to tackle budget issues, facing $20M gap

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Mike Boyce, Cobb commissioners
Chairman Mike Boyce’s proposed millage rate increase was shot down by his fellow commissioners in August. (East Cobb News file photo)

After a contentious year of haggling over the property tax millage rate and the fiscal year 2018 budget, Cobb commissioners are spending Monday and Tuesday on a retreat to figure out future plans for handling spending concerns.

Chairman Mike Boyce and the four district commissioners will be meeting at the Threadmill Complex in Austell for a day-and-a-half of meetings and discussions. Last month the board adopted a $403.4 million FY 2018 spending plan that included the use of $20 million in contingency spending.

The county is facing another $20 million deficit for fiscal year 2019.

“If you don’t know where you’re going, you’ll get there,” Boyce said in a statement issued Friday. “What I’m trying to do is bring in a process where we as a Board collectively knows what the issues are then the Board gives me some guidance on how to build this budget.”

The budget battles also sparked conflicts between East Cobb’s two commissioners. JoAnn Birrell suggested closing the East Cobb Library. Bob Ott, whose district includes the library, proposed closing another library in his district and making organizational changes to the East Cobb Government Service Center.

Ultimately, the commissioners voted to close no libraries but delayed funding additional staff for the new Sewell Mill Library and Cultural Center until after the budget was adopted.

East Cobb commissioner Bob Ott voted against a millage rate increase, and vowed not to do so to balance the FY 2018 budget. (East Cobb News file photo)

For similar reasons this week, commissioners also delayed a vote to approve a construction contract for Mabry Park.

The Sewell Mill Library and Mabry Park cases center around one of the main items on the retreat agenda: Funding recurring operational and maintenance costs for facilities approved through the SPLOST (Special Local Option Sales Tax).

Northeast Cobb residents have waited for a decade for a passive park in their community, and Boyce and Ott in particular pledged that Mabry Park would be built. They also were adamant that new policies for funding continuing expenses have to be ironed out.

It’s a seemingly perplexing position for Cobb commissioners to be in, given that Cobb reported a record tax digest this year of $33 billion.

In the first big test of his administration, Boyce didn’t get enough support from commissioners to raise the property tax millage rate. His proposal to boost the rate 0.13 to fully fund the 2008 Cobb Parks Bond Referendum was voted down 3-2, with only South Cobb commissioner Lisa Cupid in support.

Boyce, who defeated incumbent chairman Tim Lee last year, pledged to support parks funding. But the Cobb Parks Coalition issued a statement before the millage rate vote saying fulfilling the referendum didn’t require a tax increase.

At a heated town hall meeting in July at the East Cobb Senior Center, many residents spoke out against a tax hike, which Ott and Birrell also opposed.

Boyce, who is a first-time elected official, issued a comment at that meeting that has been a common refrain at times during his first year in office.

“I have to pay for what your commissioners passed last year,” Boyce said. “It’s a bill that’s come due.”

Mabry Park construction plans delayed again, will be reconsidered in November

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Mabry Park

Not for the first time, Mabry Park construction plans have been put on hold. The three members of the Cobb Board of Commissioners who voted on Tuesday to table the item are pledging that it won’t be for long, but that it must be done.

The Northeast Cobb commissioner who fought long and hard for her community to have a passive park doesn’t think any further delays are necessary, even though this one may be for only a month.

“It’s long overdue,” commissioner JoAnn Birrell said, choking up with emotion and pleading for her colleagues to approve a $2.85 million construction contract at Tuesday’s regular meeting. “I see no reason to hold this.”

By a 3-2 vote, however, the commissioners voted to table approval of the contract, to Integrated Construction and Nobility, Inc., with the measure slated to be taken up again on Nov. 14.

Commission chairman Mike Boyce wants Mabry Park and other projects approved by voters through SPLOST referendums to be reviewed for long-term operations and maintenance costs, since that funding comes out of the annual county budget.

The SPLOST impact statements and a policy proposed by Boyce to govern them are among the topics at a commissioners retreat next week. That’s why Boyce said he sought the delay.

By law, projects approved via SPLOST (Special Local Option Sales Tax) must be funded. How to pay for their recurring expenses has been a vexing one for commissioners, who recently voted to spend $20 million in reserve money to balance the fiscal year 2018 budget.

“The project that got caught between a rock and a hard place is Mabry Park,” Boyce said. “We’re going to commit to these parks, but we have a bigger problem here and we need to solve this now.”

Boyce was supported by East Cobb commissioner Bob Ott, whose district now includes Mabry Park, and Bob Weatherford.

Tabling the Mabry Park contract approval comes a week after the commissioners hotly debated additional funding for the new Sewell Mill Library and Cultural Center, another SPLOST project that has more staff and higher operational costs than the East Marietta Library it is replacing.

The Cobb Department of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs has indicated that once that complete, Mabry Park will incur an initial one-time cost of $22,230 for maintenance tools and equipment. Starting with the fiscal year 2019 budget, ongoing annual expenses are estimated to be $104,922. Of that total, $73,122 will go for staff salaries and benefits, and another $31,800 is projected for utilities and operational supplies.

Birrell cited the decade-long process of SPLOST approval, the development of the park master plan and the formation of the Friends of Mabry Park citizens group, which has raised more than $60,000 to help fund the project, located on 26.5 acres at Wesley Chapel Road and Sandy Plains Road.

JoAnn BIrrell, Mabry Park
Commissioner JoAnn Birrell represented the area around Mabry Park until this year following redistricting. (East Cobb News file photo)

“It’s a crying shame that we’re still discussing the construction of Mabry Park,” she said.

But Ott, who inherited the Mabry Park area this year due to redistricting, said it’s prudent for a delay so the board can work through the impact statement policy.

“We cannot continue to build things and not open them because they’re not funded,” Ott said.

He also pointed to unfinished projects in his district, including Hyde Farm (whose proponents have raised more than $350,000) and shifting $1 million in sidewalk funding as part of a series of “very difficult” decisions that have had to be made because of existing commitments.

Hania Whitfield, a former executive board member of the Friends of Mabry Park, was one of several citizens who spoke Tuesday to urge the commissioners to approve the construction contract.

“Many have lost faith they will be able to use the park,” especially seniors, she said. “There is an indisputable lack of green space access in the Northeast Cobb portion of the county.”

Boyce, supported by parks advocates during his successful campaign last year to oust former chairman Tim Lee, said the need to hammer out an impact statement policy can’t be postponed.

“We have to stop and put this together,” he said. “We have to start with something.

“Once we get this process in place, we will never have this problem again.”

 

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Cobb fiscal year 2018 budget approved in close vote

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Cobb fiscal year 2018 budget

After a lengthy public hearing and discussion and the possibility of not approving a budget today, the Cobb fiscal year 2018 budget was adopted by the Board of Commissioners.

The $403.4 million budget is based on the millage rate of 6.76 set by commission in July, and using $19.7 million in contingency funding—”one-time monies” in budget parlance—to balance the budget. More than $1 million for Cobb community charities was not included in the budget, and representatives of many of those organizations were vocal about keeping their funding.

The new budget includes funding for the East Cobb Library, which commissioner JoAnn Birrell had proposed closing, but does not include funding for the Sewell Mill Library and Cultural Center, which will replace the East Marietta Library and is slated to open this winter.

Like the funding for the charities, funding for the new library is expected to be taken up by the commissioners in the new fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1.

What follows is a live-blog format of the public comment period, both from the public and the commissioners, that was updated as the budget proceedings took place.

We’ll have other matters from today’s commission meeting, including the approval of the Cobb 2040 Comprehensive Plan, posted separately.

We’ll also link to the final budget document once it’s made available online. Here’s the original.

1:41 PM: The budget passes 3-2, with Boyce, Birrell and Bob Weatherford voting yes, Ott and Cupid voting no.

1:28 PM: Chairman Mike Boyce is the last member of the board to speak, saying “budgets are never easy.” Regarding the non-profits, he said many provide services that government should be doing, but they do it better. “This isn’t black and white. The bottom line is we can’t give you what we don’t have . . . money because of the millage rate.”

Carving out a budget based on a 6.76 millage rate includes figuring out how “to provide services this county has come to expect.” He said “we’re a five-star county” and that he hopes conversations over the next few months will result in some kind of consensus from the board in the future.

Boyce makes motion to approve budget, with Birrell seconding.

1:15 PM: South Cobb commissioner Lisa Cupid said the budget situation today is “the direct result of the millage rate vote [from earlier this summer] that I did not support.” She also said that the situation is “not only mind-boggling but somewhat shameful,” and cited cuts in assistance to community non-profits, the continued limited hours for libraries and more.

“This is a not a good situation that we’re in today, to not pass a budget” that will “put us in a worse situation. There are real people with real needs that are attached to” what is tied into the budget.

She also referenced how the needs of the Braves are being accommodated, but not those who benefit from community charities. “I’m just troubled by this whole ordeal.” Cupid said she cannot support the budget proposal.

1:08 PM: The public hearing is closed, and the commissioners are making some opening comments during their discussion period. Northeast Cobb commissioner JoAnn Birrell said: “Is this a perfect budget? No. But is pretty much a flat budget” and she supports it.

East Cobb commissioner Bob Ott said he would like to see some details on how to deal with the one-time money, but “I don’t see it there.”

1:01 PM: Michael Paris of East Cobb, head of the Council for Quality Growth, spoke in support of the proposed budget. “Go forward and make sure we continue to make this county great,” he said.

12:29 PM: Ray Thomas, a South Cobb resident, expressed concern that the budget proposal includes contingency funding despite an improving economy and rising Cobb tax digest. “What happens when things really get tough? . . . This is very disconcerting.” He said the county has two choices: cut back services or find more revenue, and he cited a rise in the millage rate.

12:23 PM: Dan Daniel, a longtime East Cobb resident and volunteer at the East Cobb Library, pleaded with the commissioners to keep that branch open. If it closes, he said, nearby residents would have to go a great distance to patronize the library system.

12:01 PM: The public hearing on the budget is continuing, but we’re taking a break. This very well may be an all-day meeting, given what else is on the agenda, and what looks to be a commission impasse on the budget. Some very impassioned speakers already, and there are more to come.

11:22 AM: The directors of a number of community service organizations, including MUST Ministries, Family Promise of Cobb County and the Cobb Schools Foundation, are speaking on behalf of continuing the county funding they receive. The proposed budget does not include charities funding.

A retired citizen, John Morgan, asks the commissioners to consider “what will your legacy be?” especially as it pertains to Cobb’s homeless, and cites several Bible passages. The crowd applauded as he concluded.

11:05 AM: The first speaker is East Cobb resident Abby Shiffman, the chairwoman of the Cobb library board of trustees, and she’s urging the commission not pass a budget today, especially as it pertains to the library budget. “How can you pass a budget without specifics?” she asked, noting that the library system has suffered “cut after cut after cut” with no increase in funding, including expansion of library hours, since the recession. The notion of closing a library branch (Birrell has proposed closing the East Cobb Library) “without a true hearing is something I cannot understand.”

BTW: Tonight is the Cobb Library Foundation’s gala dinner, “Booked for the Evening,” featuring East Cobb author Jonathan W. Jordan, that’s one of the year’s biggest fundraising events for outside money to support the library system.

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