Issues

These are just some of the issues that need to be addressed, and as your Cobb County Commission Chair, I intend to work towards a more transparent and equitable governance system. I vow to serve with the utmost integrity and let each citizen have a voice. I have a vision for Cobb to continue to shine as an example to other districts.

MOBILITY SPECIAL PURPOSE LOCAL OPTION SALES TAX (M-SPLOST)

30 years is too long to have a Special Purpose tax in place. It does not allow for sufficient oversight of neither the projectors itself nor the oversight of spending the estimated 11 billion dollar windfall from the tax. Consider that a child born this year would still be bearing the burden of this tax when they turn 30 years old.

Secondly, the project is designed around buses and building dedicated lanes for them. That would not only be a huge interruption to everyone’s daily commute for many years, but is leaning heavily on technology that is most certainly going to be out of date by the time the project is even off the ground. Let’s consider what the city Mayors of Cobb have proposed – a zoned micro-transit system that would be flexible and meet the needs of more citizens where they live and work. The routes could be changed based upon demand and ridership, certainly a more efficient use of our tax dollars.

STORMWATER FEE

This proposed stormwater fee is just a tax disguised as a fee. They want to tax each and every citizen and business in Cobb not based upon usage, but from what falls from the sky. In addition, it will have an adverse affect on attracting new businesses to our county also if they realized that not only will they have to pay for stormwater remediation to obtain the proper building permits, but then will have to continue to pay each month based upon the size of their building and parking lot.

I do recognize that our stormwater runoff infrastructure needs some serious attention. However, until such time as they either use the money that is already incorporated into our water bills for stormwater maintenance and then drained off to the general fund to the tune of millions of dollars a year, we do not need to give the current commission majority access to any additional funds.

SERVICE DELIVERY AGREEMENT

As required by State law, the county and the local cities have for many years reached an amicable agreement to allocate tax dollars back to the cities to compensate them for overlapping services such as fire, trash collection and police forces. Obviously, the citizens living inside a city limit are paying for their own trash, fire and police force in their city taxes. To then require them to pay for the same services in their county taxes is basic double taxation pure and simple. This year, the current Commission Chair has declined to agree to share any of the county tax revenue with the cities based upon yet another outside consultant findings. If an agreement cannot be reached by the end of August the county will be ineligible for federal funding in many areas, thereby further straining the pocketbooks of the citizens of Cobb County.

TAXES

I will do my utmost to ensure that your tax dollars are used wisely by working with county staff to identify areas which can be trimmed through efficiency and increased use of technology to streamline operations. I pledge to roll back the millage rate during my term as chairwoman.

PUBLIC SAFETY

Public safety is my number one priority. Our men and women in blue need our utmost support and we need to continue to provide the resources to make their jobs more effective.

ELECTIONS INTEGRITY

I will do my utmost to ensure that the elections in Cobb County are secure by diligently following current election laws of the State of Georgia.

UNDERUTILIZATION OF PAID COUNTY STAFF

Cobb County has a staff in place to advise and implement policies and procedures and provide services. Outside consultants should only be hired in the case where we do not have sufficient staff or in-house expertise. Why are we spending millions of dollars a year on consultants that most often do not even reside in our area so aren’t familiar with our desired lifestyle.

HOME RULE

All elected officials take an oath to follow the letter of the law as written in the State of Georgia Constitution. Our elected legislators at the state level are the ones that are tasked with revising and amending that document which specifically grants them the power to draw county commission lines.

UNIFIED DEVELOPMENT CODE (UDC)

Our current county development plan has been in place for many years and through various revisions over time has served the county quite well, ensuring that our county remains one of the most desirable ones in the state to live and work. Concentration of the power to regulate growth should not be place in the hands of an outside consultant but remain within the purview of local municipalities.

UNCONTROLLED DENSITY

The county needs to carefully evaluate each and every new development built. We need to insure that there is an appropriate balance of homeownership and leasing opportunities. Too much uncontrolled, haphazard growth can lead to overcrowded schools and traffic jammed roads. Let’s grow, but grow with intention.