By Mark Woolsey

Cobb County’s proposed FY 2026 budget will be the subject of an upcoming series of public hearings.

To view the proposed budget and related materials, follow this link to the Cobb Finance Department website.

A first public hearing on the budget proposal is set for the Board of Commissioners meeting of July 8 at 9 a.m. The second will be July 16 at 6:30 p.m. The final hearing will be July 22 at 7 p.m., with final adoption of the budget set for later that night.

County officials are proposing a $132.5 billion budget, a jump of more than $49 million from last year.. The largest increase appears to be coming in employee-related costs.

During a budget update in March, the county finance director projected a $7 million dollar budget shortfall but during Tuesday’s Board of Commissioners work session update Bill Volckmann said most of that gap had been eliminated.

The proposed budget is lean, with no new general fund positions being recommended.  Two new fire lieutenants are being recommended under the fire fund and two new Stormwater Management Project inspectors also got the nod, with funding for those positions coming from the water fund.  That’s compared to 290 positions being requested countywide in March.

The budget recommends staff raises ranging from 2 to possibly 5 percent, with 2 percent being a simple cost-of-living increase, and any step increases and merit raises being added on.

The proposed budget again recommends holding millage rates steady.