Cobb County’s budget deficit is about $20 million going into the new fiscal year in October, and one of the options to close the gap may be a tax increase, said Commission Chairman Tim Lee on Thursday.
The estimated increase would be about 1.61 mills, or a 16 percent increase to the county’s current 9.60 millage rate.
Lee told an east Cobb crowd at a public forum that he is meeting with the county’s finance department next week to review a range of options including the tax increase, before submitting the ideas to his commission colleagues.
Cobb has held its current millage rate, one of the lowest in the metro area, for more than five years despite large budget deficits at the beginning and middle of the current budget year. After employee furloughs, service reductions and fee increases, there are few options for closing the gap without a tax increase, Lee said.
Commissioners are scheduled to vote on the fiscal 2012 budget on September 13 after hearing from residents during budget hearings in August.
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