The Cobb government fiscal year 2023 budget proposal will be presented to members of the Cobb Board of Commissioners next week.
Cobb government said in a notice Tuesday that county finance officials will make the presentation at a work session on Tuesday, June 28 at 1:30 p.m., following adoption of the 2022 Cobb tax digest by the Cobb Board of Tax Assessors.
Three public hearings on the budget and millage rate have been scheduled for July, with adoption scheduled for July 26:
- Tuesday, July 12 at 9 a.m.
- Tuesday, July 19 at 6:30 p.m.
- Tuesday, July 26 at 7 p.m.
The current fiscal year 2022 general fund budget of $496.6 billion was adopted a year ago by holding the property tax rate at 8.46 mills and included a pay raise and progress on implementing a step-and-grade salary plan for public safety personnel.
The overall budget from all funding sources topped $1 billion, the first time it’s crossed that threshold in Cobb.
But as a new budget season begins, the fiscal picture in Cobb is being painted as grim, even with tax digest growth projected in excess of 10 percent.
It would be the first double-digit increase in Cobb in more than a decade, with a projected record of $48.4 billion. Property tax assessments were sent out earlier this month, with some rising more than 20 percent from last year.
Cobb tax assessor Stephen White said that home values increased by an average of $66,000 from last year.
But Cobb Commission Chairwoman Lisa Cupid has not indicated whether she will be proposing a reduction in the millage rate.
In recent months county officials said they are seriously struggling to fill numerous staff positions. Last week commissioners approved a request to spend federal COVID-related American Rescue Plan Act funds for outsourced salaries and staff retention bonuses in “critical” positions in transportation, water, and parks and recreation.
County department heads have been submitting budget requests that would add nearly 700 employees to address those shortages.
Those requests—which come to a budget of $1.2 billion, an increase of nearly $180 million from last year—are unlikely to all be filled.
Only five new full-time positions were filled in the current budget, and commissioners said it was a no-frills package. Employees got a 3-percent pay raise and some capital management funding was replenished.
Cupid said at the time that the county cannot continue “to fall behind on the basic things.”
But staff vacancies have continued to grow, and service provision has fallen off. Among the tasks to be performed by outsourced Cobb DOT staffing, for example, include mowing right-of-ways and conducting other basic road maintenance work.
Cobb government has been producing content in recent weeks about those issues, claiming a reported 1,000 vacancies across all government agencies.
Cupid is holding town halls in each of the four commission districts starting next week through mid-July.
The budget presentation work session on Tuesday will take place in the second floor board room of the Cobb government building (100 Cherokee St., downtown Marietta).
The work session and budget and millage rate hearings also will be live-streamed on the county’s website, cable TV channel (Channel 24 on Comcast) and Youtube page. Visit cobbcounty.org/CobbTV for other streaming options.
Related:
- Cupid holding ‘All-In Cobb’ town halls in June and July
- Lower Roswell Road project questioned as construction nears
- Cobb tax digest projected to grow by 10.49 percent in 2022
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