Cobb County finance director presents $92.7 million 2026 budget request, driven by personnel costs

Cobb County Finance Director Bill Volkman told the Board of Commissioners at a work session that county departments have submitted a combined request that would increase spending by roughly $92,700,000 in 2026, with personnel costs and recently filled vacancies accounting for most of the growth.

"The total request at the bottom you'll see is roughly $92,700,000. That is all funds countywide," Volkman said as he outlined the county's preliminary figures and the schedule for board review. He described the 2026 request as "position heavy," with departments seeking 290 positions in the amended year of the county's biennial budget process.

The request follows the first year of Cobb County's biannual budget process introduced in 2025. Volkman said countywide staffing changed materially since the 2025 snapshot: departments filled 106 vacancies between the 2025 snapshot and the preliminary 2026 snapshot — a factor that increases full-year salary and benefit costs because vacancies had been budgeted at 50 percent and filled positions are budgeted at full salary and benefits.

That reduction in vacancies contributed to higher personnel costs overall, Volkman said, and other recurring drivers include annual contract step-ups, routine health-care cost increases, utilities and general inflation. He also noted that merit increases and step-in-grade awards given in March have a full-year effect on the next budget.

Why it matters: The general fund would bear the largest share of the requested increase — Volkman showed a preliminary figure of about $74,300,000 for the general fund — and public safety accounted for a substantial portion of the 2025-to-2026 growth. The sheriff's office, police and fire together were the biggest drivers of last year's increases, and similar personnel and overtime pressures appear in the current requests.

Details and department requests Volkman broke out several large requests by department. The sheriff's office submitted an initial request that included 113 full-time positions and asked for roughly $27 million in total; the personnel portion of that request was described as about $11.2 million. Police requested an $8.8 million increase, about $5.8 million of which Volkman said was personnel-related; police also asked for 17 new positions. Libraries included about $3 million of capital requests. Overall the county-wide request included operating increases and capital requests in addition to personnel.

Volkman said capital requests should be seen in context: the board has historically adopted about $12 million a year for general fund capital, and some legacy capital requests from 2025 remain unfunded — about $14 million at the time of the presentation. He also said staff are coordinating SPLOST (Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax) considerations with capital priorities to determine which capital items might be SPLOST-eligible.

Unfunded mandates and impact items Volkman told commissioners that the county had identified $843,000 in "impact items" that will affect the 2026 budget and that those approved agenda items are tracked and rolled into future budgets. He contrasted that with the previous year, when approved impact items exceeded $16 million, noting the difference largely reflected a prior step-in-grade decision that continues to increase base personnel costs.

One legislatively driven item that commissioners highlighted was a state-level mandate to provide a PTSD insurance benefit for firefighters. Commissioner Garfinkel asked whether staff could report how many first responders have used the benefit, saying that data could inform the county's approach and provide feedback to the state. "Is there a way that we can find out how many access that insurance benefit?" Garfinkel asked. Volkman and staff said the program is new and that trend data will take time to develop, but HR and staff will investigate providing usage figures.

Board requests and next steps Commissioners asked for more detailed breakdowns. Commissioner Brough asked for department-level detail on vacancies and the components of the "public safety" line; Volkman said the binder being prepared for each commissioner will include per-department vacancy and filled-position details and that police alone showed a net gain of 38 filled positions in the year covered. Commissioners also asked staff to identify which requested positions are truly new, which are replacements, and whether any sheriff's positions duplicate county services; Volkman said staff would seek those operational clarifications from the sheriff's office.

Volkman outlined the schedule and process: each commissioner will receive a binder containing the full requests, personnel worksheets listing requests and justifications, and a prioritized list of each department's top two requests. He said staff anticipate one meeting with each commissioner in April and at least one in May to review packages and that the proposed budget presentation is scheduled for June 24 (work session) with final adoption slated for July 22. Volkman warned the board that digest growth is appearing weaker than recent years — county staff began with an initial digest growth estimate of about 2 percent for the tax digest, down from 8.52 percent in the prior comparable period — and that lower digest growth will limit available revenue.

Public engagement and context Several commissioners raised public-engagement ideas. One commissioner asked staff to hold public meetings as part of the county's strategic-planning outreach so residents can weigh in on service levels versus millage-rate expectations. Volkman said staff will work with the county manager's office and the board to schedule meetings and to supply updated binders as impact items or roster changes occur.

Volkman closed by reminding the board that the binder and its spreadsheets are snapshots that will be updated if new agenda-approved impact items or roster changes arise before final adoption. "This is a snapshot in time — a lot can happen between now and July," he said.

Ending: The work session ended with staff committed to supply department-level breakdowns, prioritized lists, and regular updates to the commissioners as the county moves through the 2026 budget review schedule.