Commission Votes To Keep Property Tax Rate The Same In Cobb

MARIETTA, GA -- In an at-times heated meeting on a proposed .13 mill increase, the Cobb County Commission voted 3-2 Tuesday night not to raise the property tax rate. The meeting, contentious by nature, ended with commissioners warning of budget shortages that the residents will be on the hooks for in the future.

The measure approved by commissioners means that the millage rate will remain at 9.85 mills. To make up for the budget shortfall, the panel voted to tap into $4 million of the county's contingency funds allocated in the 2017 budget. (SIGN UP: Get Patch's Daily Newsletter and Real Time News Alerts. Or, if you have an iPhone, download the free Patch app.)

The total includes millage rates of 6.76 for the general fund, 2.96 for the fire fund and .13 for the bond fund, the county government said in a news release Wednesday. "The county manager and county staff are already working on a budget for Fiscal Year 2018-19 that will reflect the new millage rate approved by the [Board of Commissioners).

The main proponent of the millage increase, Chairman Mike Boyce, trumpeted the measure because he said it was the only way to provide the county with more park space, a campaign promise. But many residents who showed up at the meeting voiced their displeasure, especially with county assessments due to go up.

In the days leading up to the vote, the commission held a series of town halls to gain support for the millage increase, including producing a video showing the purported benefits. In the end, residents who opposed the increase got their way.

Boyce said that increasing costs are something that municipalities have to deal with. “I am not going to sit here and try to find a way around the (tax increase),” Boyce said, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “I’m not, because it’s a legitimate bill.”

Commissioner Bob Ott proposed that county reserves be used instead of a millage hike, but he warned that a tax increase could come next year if the board didn't balance the budget. “The board has a fiduciary duty to balance the budget,” he was quoted as saying. Commissioners JoAnn Birrell and Bob Weatherford voted in favor of Ott's motion. Commissioner Lisa Cupid and Boyce voted nay on the motion.

“We have a commitment to pay for services you’ve already been provided,” Boyce said, according to the Marietta Daily Journal. “We’ve kicked the can down the road.”

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