Politics & Government

Lee Defends Record as Chairman

His State of the County address says the tough decisions of 2011 have Cobb in a good place in 2012.

Tim Lee acted like a man  as ’s top elected official when he delivered his State of the County address Monday morning.

The chairman of the  led a crowd of nearly 400 business and political leaders through the county’s economic struggles and successes of the past year and celebrated where the county sits now.

“Cobb County is ready for anything 2012 may throw at it,” Lee said, because the board under his leadership did what was necessary in 2011.

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That includes being ready for job growth, something Lee touted Monday when he announced that Fresenius Medical Care will expand in Cobb by bringing 120 jobs to Kennesaw. Fresenius Medical Care has clinics in Austell, Smyrna and .

“All who choose Cobb because of its greatness—its greatness I truly believe will continue with the right leadership,” he said during his speech to a Cobb Chamber of Commerce breakfast meeting at the .

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He acknowledged that when he delivered his in February 2011, he said the county would not raise taxes.

But the commissioners at his urging  on a 3-2 vote in July after cutting the size of the county government.

The property tax increase came after county voters  in March to finance repairs and maintenance of county infrastructure.

That measure, expected to raise $492 million over four years, 

“I believe for the long term they were the right decisions for this county,” Lee said.

Those moves allowed Cobb to remain one of 36 counties in the nation with a AAA bond rating, Lee said, while protecting its status as a low-tax county with the smallest budget and fewest employees in metro Atlanta.

“Cobb County is still, and will continue to be, the best place to live, work (and) play,” Lee said.


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