In the most closely watched speech of Tim Lee’s political career — his first major public address since the Braves announced their move out of downtown Atlanta — the Cobb Commission chairman told a packed room that Major League Baseball chose Cobb because the county “has been preparing for the Braves for 25 years.”
The Braves relocation was a small part of Lee’s State of the County comments Monday morning at the Cobb Energy and Performing Arts Centre.
His 35-minute address, to about 600 business, civic and political leaders, rambled across a dozen topics of impact to the 700,000 residents in Georgia’s third-largest county.
Taxes: The county commissioners slightly reduced property tax rates last year, and Lee said they will again in 2014. That is part of Lee's commitment to reduce rates to levels of 2010 — the year before his controversial tax rate hike of 16 percent, which he has said was necessary to close a massive budget deficit.
Last year, the county reduced rates by .2 mills, saving the owner of a $200,000 home about $14. A mill is equal to a dollar for each thousand dollars of taxable value.
“All indications are that Cobb County turned the corner and in 2014 we are on our way to very healthy levels for all revenue streams,” Lee said.
Lee didn’t mention that the amount being redirected to fund more than half of the county’s $17.9 million in annual debt service for the new Braves stadium, 33 cents per thousand dollars of taxable value, is higher than the amount reduced last year. It was being used to pay off bonds issued to buy parkland, and could have fallen off the books if not redirected to the baseball project.
Public Safety: Lee spent the most time on this topic, just days after Public Safety Director Jack Forsythe resigned last week in a stinging four-page letter that alleged the county was in a public safety "crisis" because it has too few police officers, and has trouble attracting and retaining officers.
Cobb Fire Chief Sam Heaton has been appointed to fill the job on an interim basis, and Lee said he will ask the commissioners at Tuesday’s meeting to give Heaton the job permanently. It was one of the few times Lee received applause during his speech.
Lee said the county’s public safety operations, which include police, fire, 911 dispatch, the Sheriff’s Office and court system, make up 55 percent of its $325 million general-fund budget.
“We’re in transition,” Lee acknowledged, referring to Forsythe’s resignation while not naming the former director. “But let me be clear: The Board of Commissioners, the county manager and I … are committed and dedicated to the safety and welfare of our citizens and our visitors in every corner of Cobb County.”
Forsythe alleged that County Manager David Hankerson has refused to let him conduct a strength-of-force study he says would confirm that the police department is short about 100 officers. Hankerson has steadfastly refused to comment on the allegation.
Lee told the crowd that Heaton will have free rein in evaluating operations at the police department.
“We, as a board, will support Sam to quickly and decisively address any and all issues he identifies as our priorities to keep the best officers and best public safety system in Cobb County,” Lee said.
The Braves: Several Braves' executives were on hand, although Lee asked five team officials to stand for recognition who, as it turned out, were not in attendance. "Who gave me this list?" Lee joked, after naming a fifth no-show.
Lee said the Braves will be “a huge part of Cobb’s future,” and predicted the move will “catapult Cobb County to new levels of success.” The new ballpark is expected to cost $672 million, with the county paying $300 million. The county also will spend about $1.2 million annually for 30 years of maintenance.
“Their presence allows us to market Cobb County in entirely new ways because it allows us to improve our quality of life,” Lee said.
Economic Development: Lee said the county's success with economic development is a result of having great relationships with the state, the county's six cities and the Cobb Chamber of Commerce. He said that in the past year there have been 16 announcements of new businesses that created more than 1,000 jobs and $41 million in investment.
The county lost about 35,000 jobs during the recession that started in 2007.
Lee also said the county’s economic development initiative called Competitive EDGE, which is designed to be a holistic approach to development that addresses quality of life, education and infrastructure while marketing the county around the globe, took “great strides.”
The program was controversial when it was rolled out because Lee and other business leaders said county taxpayers should help fund the $1 million-a-year program. That idea was scrapped after public criticism.
EDGE, Lee said, “continues to be the most important initiative we, as a community, must support in 2014.”
He stopped just short of again calling for public support of the program.
“We have well-positioned ourselves to achieve the long-term goals of increasing jobs, increasing investments and constructing a progressive economic impact for Cobb County,” he said. “It is imperative that we all take part in its execution and success.”
Rainy Day Fund: The county's bank account got fatter last year, Lee said.
The county’s reserves, called its “Rainy Day Fund,” was boosted to $48.8 million, or about 15 percent of the general-fund budget. Lee said that is about $20 million more than is considered standard by best-practice experts.
In addition, the county maintained its gold-standard triple AAA bond rating for a 17th consecutive year. Bond ratings are important because they affect the cost of borrowing.
Lee was introduced by Senior Judge G. Conley Ingram, who said a recent Atlanta Journal-Constitution headline that called Lee “Cobb’s lightning rod” got it wrong.
“He’s Cobb’s rainmaker,” Ingram said. “I believe the road ahead for us in Cobb County is clear. This is the land of the bold and the land of the Braves.”
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