Cobb citizen group calls for government reforms and oversight
The Cobb Citizens for Governmental Transparency, a citizens activist group that has called for a referendum on public spending related to the Braves stadium, issued a press release Wednesday calling for reforms in the way Cobb County government operates.
The group, which is made up of members of several grass-roots organizations, is calling for the establishment of an independent oversight committee for all Braves-related transactions and a restructuring of the Cobb ethics board.
“It is time for special interests to be replaced by the people’s interest,” said Ben Williams, a spokesman for the group. “Our Board of Commissioners need to promote and support inclusion and they must be accountable to all the people in Cobb.”
The group had previously called for a referendum on all public spending related to the Braves $622 million stadium project. No action on that has been taken by the county’s elected leadership.
The county is contributing $392 million toward the stadium — $368 million in bonds; $14 million in sales tax receipts for transportation projects; and $10 million from a collection of businesses in the Cumberland Mall area. The county will use $6.1 million in annual rent payments from the Braves to pay a portion of the debt being incurred for the stadium.
About the Author
Dan Klepal is editor of the local government team, supervising nine reporters covering county and municipal governments and metro Atlanta. Klepal came to the AJC in 2012, after a long career covering city halls in Cincinnati and Louisville, Ky. He has covered Gwinnett and Cobb counties before spending three years on the investigative team.
