Cobb County Commission chairman Tim Lee heard nothing but protests from county residents over his plan to close 13 of the county’s 17 branches for budget-cutting purposes. On Monday, he considered a new budget proposal, though keeping details sketchy and offering nothing new on the fate of the libraries.
His actions were in stark contrast to last week when Lee laid out a a detailed plan. This time, he provided no specifics other than one of his two options included a millage rate increase for the fire fund.
Lee earlier proposed closing the libraries as a way to decrease the county’s $31.5 million budget gap. Thousands of residents mobilized against the proposal.
Commissioners are scheduled to vote on the revised budget today, which ironically comes during National Library Week and on National Library Workers Day. The deficit is new territory for Cobb, which has had budget surpluses for several years.
Lee said his budget revision includes about $6 million in revenues from an end-of-year payroll revision, and a transfer of 911 funds that should be approved by state lawmakers this week.
Before Lee’s hazy explanation, some Cobb residents were calling his library-closing proposal a backhanded way to gain support for and pass a tax increase. Lee adamantly denied the allegation on Monday, saying he was surprised at the outpouring of support for the libraries.
“It’s just so obvious. I call it a diversionary tactic: Get people interested in something over here and we’ll slip this through real quick,” said Joe O’Conner, an east Cobb resident and a regular at county meetings. “It seems like the ultimate goal is to raise taxes to some degree.”
Lee’s proposal would leave open the four regional branches — Central, Mountain View, South Cobb and West Cobb libraries — and close the remaining 13 branches, along with some senior and recreation centers, to save about $2.5 million. The chairman could not say how many library jobs would be lost if the branches were closed.
A day after Lee’s proposal was released, a Save Our Libraries Facebook page and Twitter account cropped up urging residents and library supporters to contact their commissioners and rally for the branches at the commission meeting today.
“I think cutting libraries is advertising that Cobb is backwards; we’re cutting off the future,” said Mary Lou Padgett, who along with her husband, visits the East Cobb library branch each week with their twin grandchildren. “It seems there is political maneuvering that is not on the up and up, but I don’t think a possible push for a tax increase is likely to work twice in less than a month.”
Last month county residents narrowly passed a four-year extension of the county’s current 1 percent special purpose local option sales tax levy that included $1.3 million for library renovations. The extension begins Jan. 1, 2012, just as the current SPLOST expires Dec. 31.
In the months leading up to the vote, SPLOST supporters contended that a SPLOST extension would be necessary to prevent a tax increase. Cobb has maintained a 9.6 millage rate for the past six fiscal years.
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