On the county website today, Cobb County announced the schedule for the presentation of the budget by Cobb BOC Chairman Michael Boyce, the three public hearings for the budget and millage rate.

The meeting is at this time scheduled for the BOC meeting room at 100 Cherokee Street in Marietta, but Cobb Communications Director Ross Cavitt wrote the Courier in an email, “… with COVID cases going up and up stay tuned for any further developments.” If there are any changes in the meeting we will report them.

The budget for fiscal year 2021 and the 2020 millage rate will be adopted after the third public hearing on Tuesday July 28. There is no increase in the county’s millage rate proposed.

Here is the schedule of meetings.

2 p.m., Monday, July 13
Chairman presents recommended FY 2021 budget to the Board of Commissioners
BOC special called meeting

9 a.m., Tuesday, July 14
First public hearing on the recommended budget and first public hearing on the current year millage
BOC regular meeting

6:30 p.m., Tuesday, July 21
Second public hearing on the recommended budget and second public hearing on the current year millage
Special called meeting

7 p.m., Tuesday, July 28
Third public hearing on the recommended budget and third public hearing on the current year millage;
Board of Commissioners adoption of millage rate and Board of Commissioners adoption of budget
BOC meeting

The state-mandated public hearings

Under Georgia law, counties are required to calculate a “rollback” millage rate after property reassessments are done and the total digest of taxable property for the year is prepared.  “Millage” is the amount per $1,000 of the taxable value of a property used to calculate how much the property owner owes in taxes.  

The “rollback” millage rate is the hypothetical rate at which the taxation under the newly prepared tax digest would produce the same total tax revenue as the previous year.  If the county proposes a millage rate higher than the rollback rate, three public hearings are required so the public can give its opinion on the tax increase.