Cobb County residents turned out at a public meeting Tuesday night with a long list of budget-cutting options, ranging from decreasing employee salaries -- including County Manager David Hankerson's $273,000 compensation -- to trimming money for nonprofits, privatizing some services and consolidating others.
About 100 people attended the meeting to make recommendations to a citizen oversight panel appointed to review the county's spending and priorities in advance of the upcoming 2012 and 2013 budgets.
"Ask whether it is the proper role of government to be performing that service," said Brett Bittner, a resident who is on the board of the Cobb Taxpayers Association, referencing the committee's four sub-groups that review county services.
Over the past few months, Cobb residents have been especially vocal over their displeasure with county leaders and their budgeting decisions.
They packed the commission room and saved a majority of county libraries from being shuttered under a plan to close an initial $31 million mid-year budget gap, and they also lobbied -- though unsuccessfully -- to save two senior centers. They have come to meetings talking against spending for planning studies and contractor expenses, and a local sales tax extension narrowly passed in March amid loud anti-tax sentiment, which continued through Tuesday night's meeting.
Recognizing the opposition, commissioners established the oversight committee in December before agreeing to call for the SPLOST referendum.
The comments from the Cobb audience mirrored those heard in jurisdictions throughout the metro Atlanta area as local governments have sought ways to close budget gaps, many caused by the declining housing market. For Cobb, the recession and resulting drop in tax revenues led to a budget deficit, an anomoly in years of budget surpluses.
"Cobb needs to start looking at all of its projects and studies in every department," resident Ron Sifen said "Stop initiating new projects and studies in every department. ... We need to get the constant spending under control."
A report from the oversight committee is due to county commissioners on June 28, but the committee is expected to ask for additional time to complete more thorough assessments.
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