Hundreds of residents packed into the Sewell Mill Library Monday night to hear Chairman Mike Boyce make his case for a tax increase at the last of a series of town halls on the subject.
The county is facing a projected $30 million funding shortfall and received a warning from one of its credit rating agencies after using one-time moneys to plug a budget hole last year.
Boyce has proposed increasing the county’s property tax rate by 1.7 mills. He says the new, higher rate will not only plug the hole but also restore some services to their pre-recession levels.
Boyce’s draft budget for next year includes hiring more police officers and bringing back Sunday library hours.
Resident Phil Kopf, an instructional engineer, said he supported the increase although he was critical of plans to transfer millions from the water fund to the general fund.
“If you want to be transparent, quit stealing money from the water fund to pay for the general fund,” Kopf said.
George Weers, a volunteer at one of Cobb’s senior centers, said he was satisfied with the chairman’s budgeting.
"He's produced the reason for his numbers and I think that's great,” Weers said. “He studied it, he worked at it, he balanced different things and of course he's not going to make everybody happy.”
Tuesday was the first of three public hearings on the proposed tax rate and budget, which Boyce said he hopes to pass on July 25.
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