Cobb County proposes early retirement for hundreds

By Mary Lou Pickel

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Cobb County plans to offer early retirement to about 400 employees this spring to cut expenses in the face of expected revenue declines.

Cobb Commission Chairman Sam Olens mentioned the proposal in his final state of the county address before a crowd of about 350 people at the Cobb Chamber of Commerce breakfast Monday.

The chairman plans to announce his resignation in March to run for state Attorney General after serving more than 11 years on the county commission.

Olens praised the county for many projects underway, such as the new Superior Court building in Marietta, a new fire station south of Marietta and an expansion of the county jail. Cobb maintains its Triple AAA bond rating and is one of the most fiscally conservative counties in the state, Olens said.

Cobb County's tax rate has remained the same for the past five years without layoffs, furloughs, or dipping into reserves, Olens told the crowd. The county has had a hiring freeze for the last 2 1/2 years.  Now county leaders are hoping to cut costs by retiring hundreds of employees early.  The commission is expected to vote on the measure at its 9 a.m. meeting Tuesday.

The early retirement offer and additional proposed cuts are in anticipation of a drop in the value of the tax digest, said Brad Bowers, Cobb's finance director.

"The digest is going to drop further than what we anticipated," Bowers said Monday. The county had originally anticipated a minimal drop, but now it looks like the digest could drop by 8 percent to 10 percent this year, he said.

A lower tax digest means lower property values from which to collect taxes. Cobb does not anticipate raising the millage rate to make up for the decline, Bowers said.

As part of the budget cuts, Cobb plans to trim about $8 million, which includes eliminating 24 full-time positions now vacant. Furthermore, the county plans to reduce the scope or number of events this year at the Mable House Barnes Amphitheatre. Services such as street sweeping and mowing of medians and road shoulders will also be reduced, according to the budget proposal.

The biggest long-term savings would come from early retirements and a reduction in the county's workforce, Bowers said.

He  estimated that half of those eligible would take the early retirement. The county is offering an incentive of 2 percent of pay per year for a maximum of 30 years to those  considering early retirement.

Cobb could cut costs for years to come by leaving those positions vacant, delaying the rehire of workers, or replacing those who retire with lower-paid employees and part-timers, Bowers said.

The county has 4,600 full-time employees.