OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Special Called Finance and Investment & Parks, Recreation and Tourism Committees Meeting - May 5, 2026

City Council Archive View — Tuesday, May 5, 2026
BodyMarietta, Georgia
SessionCity Council Archive View
DateTuesday, May 5, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 2:44:37

Transcript — Verbatim
0:03

Call to order the special called Finance and Investment Committee meeting.

0:10

I think I supposed to call it.

0:12

Yeah, he's supposed to do that's okay.

0:15

I know you're taking a call the special order.

0:22

Good afternoon, everybody.

0:23

I like to call the uh order the finance and investment committee meeting.

0:28

To order the first item on the agenda is Ms.

0:30

Patina with a financial performance update.

0:36

Good afternoon, everyone.

0:38

Um I just want to kind of talk through real briefly what um I'll be presenting, and then we can walk through the presentations briefly.

0:51

So the special call committee um serves as a sneak peek for where we are thus far for the FY26 budget, and it gives an overall um account of um where we anticipate the budget to be for FY27.

1:09

We are still in the final stages of completing that, but for the most part, we're um we're finished, and we want to just kind of show you in preparation for the finance committee meetings later on this month what we're looking like thus far, where we're anticipated to go, if there's any major hurdles that we're having to overcome currently and in the future, and also highlight areas that um we're also doing well in.

1:39

So as I mentioned previously, we'll have the recommended budget book that'll be coming out in advance of the finance committee meetings in um later on in May, and so you have an opportunity to have the full um budget by account, and that is for all funds.

1:55

So that'll account for all funds within the city, including BLW and other funds such as the museums.

2:05

Okay, and you um these should be included for the most part.

2:12

I'll get to the graphs once I get past the budget assumptions, you'll have this also included in your packets.

2:19

So there are a few um major uh assumptions that I included in the budget.

2:25

The first ones account for across all funds.

2:29

So as we have in the past years, we assume or will try to provide a mid-year increase, salary increase for all employees that are eligible.

2:40

When I say eligible, those that um were hired um on or before July 1st of this year, they have to be here for six months in order to be included in that four percent.

2:53

And um, there are a couple of other qualifications that go into it for um longer term employees, but for the most part it would be a four percent.

3:03

Um as far as our health care, our health care costs.

3:08

Um, I'm happy to say that um the city has been able to maintain no health care um cost increases for the employee side since um 2018.

3:21

So that has been um eight years consistent for the employees where their health care has um their cost of payouts has been the same.

3:32

Now that is not true on the employer side, um, as you can imagine, health care costs like everyone else, market-wise, has been increasing, and but the city has um absorbed those costs so that it would not be passed on to the employees.

3:50

Um also taking a look at um the self-insurance fund as we're talking about health care costs.

3:56

Uh, this year was the first time that we had to kind of go into our reserves in order to um cover our um self-insurance costs, and that includes our property and casualty as well as our health care.

4:12

That um had to do primarily with our property and casualty side, and I'll get into that in more depth in depth later on.

4:20

But with our property and casualty, we saw a dramatic increase um over a three-year period, and instead of um burdening our general fund and our BLW funds, which were already um experiencing a number of constraints.

4:38

We pulled from our reserve funds out of our self-insurance in order in order to cover those costs until we could find a bridge that would allow us to have a pathway forward because we understand that we cannot use reserves as a long-term plan.

4:57

So I'll get into that um a little bit more in depth in just a moment.

5:00

And then finally, for across the board, there were no full-time employee increases.

5:07

We did not decrease our headcount in any way, but we did not add to it.

5:13

So there are salary increases that are built in, but no additional head count.

5:20

Taking a look at our general fund for our salary savings, we have a approximately 1.75 or 1.74 million dollars in our salary savings that are built in.

5:33

And those are savings that we know that from just natural attrition and overall employee placement, that we will have some set some savings from that as not all the positions will be filled throughout the year.

5:53

So in order to do that, we're funding our capital, and our capital funding is approximately a million right now, just over.

6:04

As I said, we're still making the fine tunes to our uh year-end budget, and we'll have that available, but these are approximate numbers, shouldn't change too much.

6:15

Um as far as our millage rate, the um council just did a um uh certification of our estimated millage rate.

6:28

We do not anticipate that the millage rate will change any, although the um the county had a four percent increase um countywide um for the property tax.

6:42

For us, we are um anticipating because most of that for them was um the increase was commercial.

6:49

We have um our percentage is slightly lower, and so we're anticipating approximately three to three point three percent um increase in our property tax as far as our valuations, which also includes the residential freeze that um we have had in place as well.

7:10

So there are some constraints there.

7:13

Um as far as overall fees for the general fund as it pertains to our um sanitation, um parks and rec across the board.

7:24

Um we have not built in any fees for the upcoming fiscal year.

7:30

Um and then lastly, as I mentioned before, there were no um headcount increases.

7:35

So looking at the um Board of Lights and Water, our BLW, we have not built in any retail um cost increases or rate increases.

7:47

So that is the um the rates that we pass on to our customers for uh for the revenue side.

7:55

So we have not built that in.

7:57

Um typically what happens is uh the board will take a look at that mid-year to see if there is a need.

8:05

Um we have received notification on our cost side, however, from Cobb County Water and the Mary um Cobb Marietta Water Authority for potential increases over the next few years as that impacts our next fiscal year.

8:24

We anticipate that there will be a would be we have been notified there would be a five percent hope wholesale um water increase and a three and a half percent wastewater increase, and so those should take effect um at the be at the end of the calendar year or mid-year for of our fiscal year.

8:44

And again, from a retail side, the board will take a look at that and do an assessment and determine whether or not they would like to do a retail match.

8:53

Um as it pertains to our general fund transfer, and that's the amount that the um BLW transfers over to the general fund as essentially um profit of from their um profitability, and um that is three percent this year.

9:17

Uh that is a CPI calculation, and it was slightly lower, but the board agreed to a three percent increase uh three percent increase as the transfer to the general fund this year, um, and a lot of that had to do with um constraints on both sides that would uh um ultimately help um the general fund um in maintaining some of its stability as well this year.

9:49

One thing you're gonna see as we go through the slides is that this is an extremely tight budget year for the city and the BLW, um maybe one of the tightest for the BLW uh as a matter of fact.

10:00

Um maybe one of the tightest for the BLW uh as a matter of fact, um you'll see on their capital side that it's a lot less than uh it has been at times.

10:06

Um we've got some things we're dealing with uh on the general fund and the BLW side.

10:11

Obviously, with that, we have some positive things coming up on the BLW side that we'll uh see in not this budget year, but the following budget year.

10:19

Uh so this is one of those um, you know, get through this portion and get to the better uh times that we'll have ahead.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Arts And Culture█████████████████████████████████33%
Budget Equity Analysis██████████████14%
Historic Preservation█████████████13%
Community Engagement████████████12%
Tourism Promotion███████████11%
Procedural██2%
Fiscal Sustainability██2%
Parks and Recreation██2%
Tourism██2%
Summary of Proceedings

Special Called Finance and Investment & Parks, Recreation and Tourism Committees Meeting - May 5, 2026

The city held a special called joint committee meeting to receive a financial performance update for the FY26-FY27 budget and to hear tourism grant requests from local organizations for FY27. No formal votes were taken; the meetings were informational and preparatory for future committee meetings later in May.

Finance and Investment Committee: Financial Performance Update

  • Presenter: Ms. Patina, Finance Director, provided a sneak peek of the FY26 budget and FY27 projections. Key assumptions include a 4% mid-year salary increase for eligible employees, no health care cost increases for employees since 2018 (though employer costs have risen), and no full-time employee headcount increases. The city used reserves for the first time in FY26 to cover self-insurance costs (property, casualty, and health care), pulling over $1 million from reserves, but expects to return to normal contributions in FY27 after switching to GMA pool for property/casualty insurance, locking in rates for 18 months.
  • Revenue: Property tax valuations expected to increase 3–3.3% (countywide 4%, mostly commercial). No fee increases for sanitation, parks, or other services. Business license revenue flat; franchise fees (telephone, cable) declining. Hotel/motel tax collections declining; auto rental had a spike due to $170,000 audit revenue. BLW (Board of Lights and Water) does not include retail rate increases, but wholesale water and wastewater costs will increase 5% and 3.5% respectively. BLW transfer to general fund is 3% this year. The budget is described as extremely tight, especially for BLW, with reduced capital spending.
  • Uncertainty: State legislation on property tax freezes and caps (HB 581) may affect revenue; the city’s existing freeze (since 2002) is more restrictive than the state’s proposed cap, but implementation details are pending.
  • No action taken. The full recommended budget will be presented at finance committee meetings later in May.

Parks, Recreation and Tourism Committee: Tourism Grant Requests for FY27

A series of organizations presented funding requests for FY27 tourism grants. All requests were for support of cultural, historical, and recreational activities that attract visitors to Marietta. No votes were taken; the committee will consider allocations later.

  • Visit Marietta (Brittany Gray): Requested $22,137.80 for welcome center rent and maintenance. Reported economic impact of tourism in Cobb County: $2.5 billion in 2024, saving average household $744 in taxes. Focus areas: brand visibility, visitor engagement, inclusive tourism, partnerships, data-driven strategy.
  • Alley Stage Foundation (Laura Price): Requested $35,000 (up from $20,000 in FY26) for artist fees for Shakespeare, Overture Cabaret series, and A Very Marietta Christmas. Volunteer-run; all funds go to programming. Emphasized tourism draw, with audiences from outside Marietta.
  • Gone with the Wind Museum at Brumby Hall (Jessica Giancola): Requested same level as prior years. Reported 2025 attendance: 5,588 visitors from 45 states and 44 countries, up from 3,999 in 2024. Average Saturday attendance up 133%. Wedding rental revenue grew from $1,025 (2024) to $14,633 (FY26 YTD). Seeking funds for continued marketing and a full bridal suite to double wedding bookings.
  • City Staff – Data Services and Marketing (unidentified): Requested $35,000 for tourism marketing including Placer AI location intelligence platform (86% of cost). Funds support social media ads, digital billboards, promotional items.
  • City Staff – Event Services (Maggie Moss): Requested funds for overtime for city staff at tourism events: Juneteenth, July 4th, Art in the Park, Chalktober Fest, Veterans Day Parade, Santa on the Square. Also covers installation of patriotic lights and parking lot rental for fireworks.
  • Cobb County NAACP Juneteenth (speaker): Requested increased funding for 24th annual Juneteenth celebration (three-day event). Reported attendance of 50–60 per day (modest estimate, but likely higher). Event draws visitors from across Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee. Focus on unity, education, and community outreach.
  • Cobb Landmarks and Historical Society (Trevor Beaman): Requested funding for Root House museum. Reported 6,940 paid visitors in 2024, plus 6,000 gift shop visitors. Lecture attendance up 66% (950 attendees). October funeral interpretation drew over 1,000 visitors. Hosted national historic preservation groups.
  • Georgia Metropolitan Dance Theater (Beth Hughes): Requested $22,000 (same as FY26) for productions, costumes, guest artists. 130 dancers, patrons from 100 zip codes and 16 states. Performances at Jenny T. Anderson Theater and Strand.
  • Georgia Symphony Orchestra (Suzanne Tucker): Requested $65,000 (up from prior year). Celebrated 75th anniversary; performed 11 full concerts in city limits. 65–75% of audiences from outside Marietta. Funds support venue rental, marketing, and GSO on the Go program for underserved communities.
  • Historic Marietta Square Branding Project (Stephanie Coston): Requested $6,000 for First Friday art walks, Saturday artisan market, Winter Wonderland Santa, and social media. Artisan market draws thousands weekly. 1,800 families visited Santa. Social media reaches ~300,000 people annually on Instagram. Council member noted organization changed from 501(c)(3) to 501(c)(4) which allows political activity; presenter stated they do not engage in politics.
  • Lemon Street Classic (Marcus Hood): Requested $35,000 for 7th annual basketball tournament. 47 teams, 10% of all Georgia high school teams. Teams from Canada, Bahamas, multiple states. Includes scholarships for student-athletes ($1,250 each). Event honors Lemon Street High School legacy. Economic impact through hotels, food, security.
  • Marietta Educational Garden Center (Kate Millholland): Requested funds for 3D tour/drone video and roof replacement. 175th anniversary celebrated. 20 garden clubs, 600+ members. Busy event season (March–May, August–December). Roof dates to 1990–2000; campaign “Raise the Roof” underway.
  • Marietta Fire Museum (Capt. Malcolm Walson): Requested funds for apparatus lettering/striping, glass signage, display upgrades, interior paint, and repair of coin-operated fire engine ride. Museum preserves fire service history since 1854.
  • Marietta History Center (Amy Reid): Celebrated 30th anniversary. Attendance grew from 7,000 (2020) to 18,000 (FY26). Online collections database launched with 11,000 items digitized. Upcoming: America 250th programming, cemetery tours, presidential artifacts exhibit. Supports local economy via room rentals and museum store.
  • Marietta Cobb Museum of Art (Sally McCauley): Requested increased funding. 2025 reached 79,000 visitors (33% increase from 2024). Chalktoberfest has $3.8 million economic impact, 40,000–50,000 attendees. Education programs grew 10x. Awarded Best Museum and Best Festival.
  • Marietta Theater Company (Josh Hilsher): Requested continued support. Produced 30+ Broadway-style musicals since 2017. 4,200 attendees last season, 71% first-time. Economic impact $319,000. Funds support licensing, orchestrations, marketing.
  • Old Zion Heritage Museum (Angela Spurlock): Requested funds for increased social media, video production, and programming. Reported high attendance for Black History Month, Christmas concert, and youth summit (175 visitors in one day during Ramble). All-volunteer run. Upcoming: Zion the Production (June 27), Juneteenth fish fry (June 13).
  • Earl and Rachel Smith Strand Theater (Andy Gaines): Reported 62,000 visitors, 253 ticketed events, 347 days lit. 733 zip codes, 40 states, 4 countries. Economic impact $5.8 million. Requests continued support for programming and economic development.
  • Georgia Ballet (Ashley Ann Hensley): Requested funds for live orchestration for Firebird and Carmen productions. 36 dancers, three main stage productions. Audience reached 22 states, over 100 cities. 2025 growth in ticket sales and first-time attendees. School serves hundreds of students.
  • Theatre Square Art Alliance (representative): Requested increased funding for year-round marketing (billboards, streaming ads) for Marietta’s Theater in the Square. Third year of operation; previously funded billboards for specific events, now seeking continuous presence.

Key Outcomes

  • No motions or votes were taken during either committee meeting. The Finance and Investment Committee will reconvene later in May to consider the full recommended budget. The Parks, Recreation and Tourism Committee will consider the tourism grant requests and likely make funding decisions at a future meeting. Council members expressed appreciation for the partnership among organizations and the collective tourism impact.

Meeting Transcript

Call to order the special called Finance and Investment Committee meeting. I think I supposed to call it. Yeah, he's supposed to do that's okay. I know you're taking a call the special order. Good afternoon, everybody. I like to call the uh order the finance and investment committee meeting. To order the first item on the agenda is Ms. Patina with a financial performance update. Good afternoon, everyone. Um I just want to kind of talk through real briefly what um I'll be presenting, and then we can walk through the presentations briefly. So the special call committee um serves as a sneak peek for where we are thus far for the FY26 budget, and it gives an overall um account of um where we anticipate the budget to be for FY27. We are still in the final stages of completing that, but for the most part, we're um we're finished, and we want to just kind of show you in preparation for the finance committee meetings later on this month what we're looking like thus far, where we're anticipated to go, if there's any major hurdles that we're having to overcome currently and in the future, and also highlight areas that um we're also doing well in. So as I mentioned previously, we'll have the recommended budget book that'll be coming out in advance of the finance committee meetings in um later on in May, and so you have an opportunity to have the full um budget by account, and that is for all funds. So that'll account for all funds within the city, including BLW and other funds such as the museums. Okay, and you um these should be included for the most part. I'll get to the graphs once I get past the budget assumptions, you'll have this also included in your packets. So there are a few um major uh assumptions that I included in the budget. The first ones account for across all funds. So as we have in the past years, we assume or will try to provide a mid-year increase, salary increase for all employees that are eligible. When I say eligible, those that um were hired um on or before July 1st of this year, they have to be here for six months in order to be included in that four percent. And um, there are a couple of other qualifications that go into it for um longer term employees, but for the most part it would be a four percent. Um as far as our health care, our health care costs. Um, I'm happy to say that um the city has been able to maintain no health care um cost increases for the employee side since um 2018. So that has been um eight years consistent for the employees where their health care has um their cost of payouts has been the same. Now that is not true on the employer side, um, as you can imagine, health care costs like everyone else, market-wise, has been increasing, and but the city has um absorbed those costs so that it would not be passed on to the employees. Um also taking a look at um the self-insurance fund as we're talking about health care costs. Uh, this year was the first time that we had to kind of go into our reserves in order to um cover our um self-insurance costs, and that includes our property and casualty as well as our health care. That um had to do primarily with our property and casualty side, and I'll get into that in more depth in depth later on. But with our property and casualty, we saw a dramatic increase um over a three-year period, and instead of um burdening our general fund and our BLW funds, which were already um experiencing a number of constraints. We pulled from our reserve funds out of our self-insurance in order in order to cover those costs until we could find a bridge that would allow us to have a pathway forward because we understand that we cannot use reserves as a long-term plan. So I'll get into that um a little bit more in depth in just a moment. And then finally, for across the board, there were no full-time employee increases. We did not decrease our headcount in any way, but we did not add to it. So there are salary increases that are built in, but no additional head count. Taking a look at our general fund for our salary savings, we have a approximately 1.75 or 1.74 million dollars in our salary savings that are built in. And those are savings that we know that from just natural attrition and overall employee placement, that we will have some set some savings from that as not all the positions will be filled throughout the year. So in order to do that, we're funding our capital, and our capital funding is approximately a million right now, just over. As I said, we're still making the fine tunes to our uh year-end budget, and we'll have that available, but these are approximate numbers, shouldn't change too much. Um as far as our millage rate, the um council just did a um uh certification of our estimated millage rate. We do not anticipate that the millage rate will change any, although the um the county had a four percent increase um countywide um for the property tax. For us, we are um anticipating because most of that for them was um the increase was commercial. We have um our percentage is slightly lower, and so we're anticipating approximately three to three point three percent um increase in our property tax as far as our valuations, which also includes the residential freeze that um we have had in place as well. So there are some constraints there. Um as far as overall fees for the general fund as it pertains to our um sanitation, um parks and rec across the board. Um we have not built in any fees for the upcoming fiscal year. Um and then lastly, as I mentioned before, there were no um headcount increases. So looking at the um Board of Lights and Water, our BLW, we have not built in any retail um cost increases or rate increases. So that is the um the rates that we pass on to our customers for uh for the revenue side. So we have not built that in. Um typically what happens is uh the board will take a look at that mid-year to see if there is a need.

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