Lee to Release Alternative Budget Cut Plan

The people have spoken and apparently Cobb Commission Chairman Tim Lee is listening.

When word broke last Friday morning that Lee was going to propose at Tuesday’s board meeting to shut the doors of 13 of 17 county libraries and three senior centers in an effort to close the $31 million deficit projected for fiscal 2011, those affected immediately got organized.

Since it launched late Friday afternoon, the "Save Cobb Libraries" Facebook page has generated nearly 2,000 "likes" and plenty of comments from surprised and bewildered citizens.

And many of those citizens let the commissioners know their thoughts through e-mail, too. In fact, Monday morning, Cobb spokesman Robert Quigly said the county has received 3,000 e-mails about Lee's plan to cut libraries and senior centers.

And those emails appear to have made a difference as Lee is set to present an alternative budget cut plan to the one he had last week. He said he would meet with the individual commissioners Monday afternoon before revealing his new plan at the board's regular meeting Tuesday morning.

Patch will cover the Board of Commissioners’ meeting live beginning at 9 a.m.

The Vinings Library and the , as well as the Freeman Poole and Senior Centers would all close May 1 if the proposal were approved. It’s a proposal that hasn’t been welcomed warmly in the Smyrna-Vinings area.

On the Smyrna-Vinings homepage over the weekend, one woman who identifies herself as “Michelle’’ wrote, “I hope for the sake our senior adult population residing in Smyrna/Cobb County that both Senior Centers will not be closed. Maybe an alternative would be to alternate days of operation between the two centers or cutting back on hours which could help minimize cost to the county.

"For many senior adults, establishments like this provide a safe and structured environment for this population to socialize and maintain a quality of living otherwise loss when only confined to their home and are unable to afford Retirement Communities. PLEASE DO NOT CLOSE BOTH SENIOR CENTERS!!!!!!’’

With Monday’s continuing developments, there’s hope that such might not happen after all. Stay tuned …