Cobb Court Clerk to Refund $84K in Passport Shipping Fees

Cobb Superior Court Clerk Connie Taylor plans to return nearly $84,000 in passport shipping fees she collected during her first term in office. Stemming from a yearslong controversy, the fees, tied to a state law allowing her to collect passport application fees as personal income, were deemed inappropriate. Taylor’s office offers passport services, and while the law permits her to keep a $35 processing fee, it doesn’t allow her to pocket the $24.70 expedited shipping charge.

Between 2021 and 2022, Taylor allegedly collected a total of $83,658.90 in such fees. A forthcoming vote at the Cobb Board of Commissioners’ meeting could approve the refund to the county.

In late 2022, Taylor indicated her intent to return the funds. Commissioner JoAnn Birrell expressed support for the refund, calling it a rightful return of funds.Taylor, who was first elected in 2020, assumed the controversial practice of pocketing passport fees, which was the practice of her predecessor, Republican Rebecca Keaton. Scrutiny intensified after a 2022 report revealed her collection of $425,000 in passport fees, sparking allegations of record destruction and a Georgia Bureau of Investigation probe.

Taylor’s office stopped collecting passport fees in 2022. Taylor was reelected for another 4 year term in November.