Wednesday, April 24, 2013
Cobb Commissioners voted 3-2 Tuesday to accept a state grant to establish the county's first mental health court.
The Cobb Board of Commissioners gave the green light to funding the county’s first mental health court Tuesday. The board voted 3-2 to accept a state grant to create the mental health court, with commissioners Helen Goreham and Bob Ott opposed. The new court will be overseen by Cobb Superior Court Judge Mary Staley, using a $53,615 state grant commissioners accepted for the remainder of the fiscal year through June 30, said county chairman Tim Lee. Lee said the current grant can pay for 10 participants, but it is uncertain whether a second grant will be given to the county for the next fiscal year until more state guidelines come out in June. Last year, the state gave $353,676 in grants to 20 courts including the Cobb Family Dependency …
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
The former Northeast Cobb representative has become a full-time assistant to East Cobb commissioner Bob Ott.
It may seem like a novelty, and perhaps even a stroke of audacity, but District 2 Cobb Commissioner Bob Ott calls his hiring of a former colleague "a natural fit." That's what Ott told The Marietta Daily Journal, which reported Tuesday (subscription) that the East Cobb Republican had hired former District 3 Commissioner Thea Powell as his full-time assistant. Powell, a Republican who served the Northeast Cobb district now represented by JoAnn Birrell from 1997-2001 and on an interim basis in 2010, succeeds Renee Nichols, a 20-year commission assistant who retired. The newspaper noted Powell will have to step down as a member of the Development Authority of Cobb County, a post to which she was appointed by Ott. Ott and Powell didn't serve …
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
The county approved Tuesday to hire Willie A. Hopkins, Jr. as its new support services director, and tabled court officials' request of a grant to fund the county’s first mental health court.
The Cobb Board of Commissioners recognized volunteers and community leaders, and made a new hire to its management team Tuesday. The board approved the appointment of Willie A. Hopkins, Jr., the assistant city manager of Pompano Beach, Florida and former director of general services for Fulton County, as Cobb's new support services director. The position manages a staff of 320 people in the area of property management, information services purchasing, and government service centers. Former director Virgil Moon retired last September to become the chief financial officer at Cobb and Douglas Public Health. Hopkins is expected to start in his new role on April 15, and receive a salary of $136,000, said Cobb County spokesman Robert Quigley. …
Sunday, February 17, 2013
The District 3 Cobb Commissioner will update constituents on upcoming car tag tax changes on Tuesday.
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Sunday, February 17
District 3 Cobb Commissioner JoAnn Birrell will have her first town hall meeting of 2013 from 7-8:30 p.m., Tuesday, Feb. 19 in the Board of Commissioners meeting room. It is located on the 2nd floor of 100 Cherokee Street, Marietta. The focus of the town hall will be the upcoming car tag tax changes. Tax Commissioner Gail Downing will conduct a presentation followed by a Q & A period.
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
Fernando Wise was removed after refusing to give his name during a public hearing.
A Cobb County man was released after being escorted from the Cobb Board of Commissioner's meeting Tuesday night in handcuffs when he refused to give his name during a public hearing. "There is nothing in the first amendment requiring me to give my name to speak," Fernando Wise said. Chairman Tim Lee, who asked Cobb County police officers to remove Wise from the meeting room, said there are processes and procedures that must be followed. "I apologize it has to come to this, but we must be consistent," he said. Members of the standing room only crowd yelled, "Let him go!" as Wise was escorted from the room. In the foyer, residents in favor of allowing backyard poultry in Cobb County - of which Wise's father, Lamar, is a member - gathered, …
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
The Cobb Commission Chairman is the featured guest at the Jan. 30 meeting of the East Cobb Civic Association.
Cobb Commission Chairman Tim Lee is the featured speaker at the Jan. 30 meeting of the East Cobb Civic Association. His remarks will begin at 7 p.m. at the East Cobb Government Services Center, 4400 Lower Roswell Road. A general membership meeting will follow. Lee, a resident of the Northeast Cobb area, delivered his official State of the County address to the Cobb Chamber of Commerce last week; see the accompanying video for the full speech. Over the weekend The Marietta Daily Journal reported that Lee is requesting a three percent raise for county officials, just as county employees received late last year. Both measures are opposed by East Cobb commissioner Bob Ott. He supported a one-time bonus for employees and told the newspaper that…
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
The Board of Commissioners also has approved the hiring of a new director of public services.
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Wednesday, January 9
After being officially vacant for nearly two years, the position of Cobb Director of Public Safety has been filled. The Cobb Board of Commissioners on Tuesday approved the hiring of Jack Forsythe of Currituck, N.C., a former law enforcement executive with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the Federal Emergency Management Association/Homeland Security. Forsythe succeeds Bob Ash, who retired two years ago, with Cobb Fire Chief Sam Heaton serving in an interim capacity. The Marietta Daily Journal reported Tuesday that Cobb Commission Chairman Tim Lee said the position remained vacant during Cobb Citizens Oversight Committee deliberations. The panel recommended that the position, which oversees operations for police, fire, …
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
The county is in strong financial standing, Chairman Tim Lee said Tuesday.
In a time when some local governments are close to filing for bankruptcy, Cobb Commission Chairman Tim Lee said Tuesday that his county is thriving. Cobb, which recieved an unqualified or clean opinion on its Comprehensive Annual Plan audit, has the lowest millage rate in the metro Atlanta area, added 3 percent to the general fund reserve and 5 percent to its fire district fund reserve. And in most areas, the county's revenues for fiscal year 2012 not only exceeded expenditures but also exceeded what county officials originally had budgeted. For example, in the General Fund, revenues came in at $327.5 million, up from the $325.8 million originally budgeted. And, expenditures came in at $313.3 million, $17.3 million less than what county …
Monday, January 7, 2013
The commission chairman will speak at a Cobb Chamber breakfast next Monday.
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Monday, January 7
Cobb Commission Chairman Tim Lee will deliver the 2013 state of the county address before the Cobb Chamber of Commerce next week. The organization's First Monday breakfast starts Jan. 14 at 7:30 a.m. at the Cobb Galleria Centre, 2 Galleria Parkway. The online registration and refund deadline is this Wednesday, Jan. 9, at 12 p.m. Tickets are $25 a person for Cobb Chamber members online and $40 at the door; general admission tickets are $60 a person. Lee, a Republican who previously represented Northeast Cobb's District 3 on the commission, won a full-term as chairman last August after filling the final two years of former chairman Sam Olens' term. Lee was sworn in for his new term last month, as was District 2 commissioner Bob Ott, a …
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
The Cobb Commission Chairman will take the oath of office to begin a full term.
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Wednesday, December 19, 2012
On Thursday, Cobb Commission Chairman Tim Lee will be sworn in for a new term. The swearing-in ceremony will take place at 10 a.m. in the 2nd floor BOC room, 100 Cherokee St., Marietta. Lee defeated former chairman Bill Byrne in the Republican primary runoff in August to win a full four-year term. Lee was elected in 2010 fill the unexpired term of former chairman Sam Olens, now the Georgia Attorney General. Lee had been a District 3 commissioner, serving the Northeast Cobb area currently represented by JoAnn Birrell. Lee was re-elected in spite of his support of the roundly defeated TSPLOST referendum last summer and his vote to raise property taxes in 2011 to help the county close a $30 million budget deficit. East Cobb Commissioner Bob …
