Chairman Lee: 'New' Jobs Aren't Really New

Tuesday Cobb Commission Chairman Tim Lee said that the 44 new jobs included in the proposed fiscal year 2013 budget aren’t really all that new.

The Chairman was addressing the Vinings Business Association when a member asked if the 44 additional positions in the 2013 budget were really “new” or if they would replace positions that had been eliminated in the past. Lee’s answer was yes and no and he used the magistrate court as an example.

“Two years ago the legislature in their wisdom decided to write a new law that shifted the workload from state court to magistrate,” he said. “I’m not quite sure why, but when they did that they didn’t change the fee structure... Yes, I’m adding positions to the magistrate court, but what they failed to say is I’ve eliminated more than I’ve added to the state court budget because of the shift of workload.”

Additionally, Lee estimated that a third of the positions were seasonal because they are funded by the current SPLOST. However, once the SPLOST projects are completed these positions will be eliminated. He also explained that some of the 44 new jobs were for firefighters and police officers.

The proposed budget allows for the addition of 10 general government positions, 25 public safety positions, eight public works positions and one culture and recreation position. The eight public works positions are SPLOST funded.

The Board of Commissioners will vote to adopt the budget at their Sept. 11 meeting at 9 a.m. in the second floor meeting room 100 Cherokee Street in Marietta.  

The county's budget presentation is posted above as PDF.