Budget town hall in East Cobb (Slideshow)

Town Hall in East Cobb

Cobb County commission chairman Michael Boyce gave a pitch for a 1.7 mill tax increase before a packed, largely sympathetic audience at the budget town hall meeting in the East Cobb Senior Center Monday evening. He came prepared with a video and slide presentation to build his case that without the increase the county would not be able to pay its bills, would have to cut services, and would run the risk of losing its AAA credit rating. The information he presented is available as an online presentation entitled “Cobb’s Budget Journey”, developed by Cobb GIS.

Room packed to capacity

The senior center meeting room was filled to capacity, with many people standing in the back of the room and in the hallway. There was no evidence of organized tax revolt, and even the pointed questions from the audience expressed anger at effects of the stadium deal rather than the proposed tax increase. One woman asked what guarantee residents would have that the commission wouldn’t come back next year with another tax increase request. Boyce answered that it is impossible to predict what might happen in the future, but that the 1.7 mill increase should be sufficient to cover the budget gap, and that he had no intention of asking for further tax increases.

A generally friendly audience

The crowd laughed at Boyce’s jokes and applauded at various points through the speech and the Q&A. District 3 Commissioner JoAnn Birrell, who represents the portion of East Cobb where the meeting was held, was at the meeting and answered questions from constituents after the meeting ended.

District 3 Commissioner JoAnn Birrell talks with constituents after the town hall (photo by Larry Felton Johnson)

This was the first in series of town halls and hearings to be held before the BOC votes on the tax increase and the budget in July.

More town halls and hearings before the budget vote

The remainder of the town hall schedule is as follows:

June 19 at the North Cobb Senior Center, 3900 S. Main Street, Acworth, GA 30101
June 20 at the Senior Wellness Center, 1150 Powder Springs St SW, Marietta, GA 30064
June 25 at the Freeman Poole Senior Center, 4025 S Hurt Rd SW, Smyrna, GA 30082
June 27 at the West Cobb Senior Center, 4915 Dallas Hwy, Powder Springs, GA 30127
June 28 at the South Cobb Community Center, 620 Lions Club Dr, Mableton, GA 30126
July 9 at Sewell Mill Library, 2051 Lower Roswell Rd, Marietta, GA 30068

In addition, three legally mandated public hearings will be held in the Board of Commissioners room on the second floor of 100 Cherokee Street Marietta, GA 30090