Cobb Commissioners Maintain Tax Rate Increase

After voting to increase Cobb's millage rate by 15.7 percent in 2011, the same three Cobb Commissioners voted to keep the rate the same on Tuesday night.

Chairman Tim Lee, northwest Commissioner Helen Goreham and South Cobb Commissioner Woody Thompson all approved the current property tax rate of 11.11 mills, while southeast Cobb Commissioner Bob Ott and northeast Commissioner JoAnn Birrell cast dissenting votes.

Birrell told the Marietta Daily Journal she couldn't justify voting for the current tax rate when she didn't vote for it last year.

The county's tax digest decreased 2.3 percent from last year's $29.71 billiion to $29 billion this year. However, the decrease is the smallest in recent years, MDJ reports.

Lee said the county must maintain its current tax rate in order to maintain its AAA bond rating with the three major credit agencies. The AAA bond rating allows the county to borrow money at low-interest rates, which is needed since borrows funds at the beginning of the fiscal year and collects taxes at the end of the fiscal year.

Read more about Tuesday night's commission meeting at the Marietta Daily Journal.