Cobb Superior Court Clerk Ordered to Repay $83K in Passport Fees to County, a resident listed in public arrest records, was taken into custody on April 2, 2025, in Featured County, Georgia. According to the official booking report, the arrest was made by local authorities and the subject was charged with the following offense(s): unspecified charges. This incident was officially recorded and made publicly available by law enforcement agencies in the state of Georgia. The details provided reflect the arrest information at the time of booking and do not indicate guilt or conviction. All suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
COBB COUNTY, Ga. – Cobb County Superior Court Clerk Connie Taylor has agreed to repay nearly $84,000 after officials determined she improperly kept passport-related fees that should have been deposited into county funds.
Under Georgia law, superior court clerks are permitted to retain the $35 processing fee for passport applications. However, a county review found that Taylor also kept the $24.70 expedited shipping fees, which are required to be allocated to the county.
On Tuesday, the Cobb County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously (4-0) to accept repayment from Taylor’s office for fees collected during her first two years in office.
A review found Taylor collected $46,411.30 in expedited shipping fees in fiscal year 2021 and $37,247.60 in fiscal year 2022, totaling $83,658.90. The review also indicated that Taylor retained more fees than other metro Atlanta clerks, some of whom share a portion of passport revenues with local governments.
Taylor did not attend the commission meeting or respond to requests for comment. However, her chief operating officer, Libby Blackwell, stated that Taylor had intended to return the money two years ago. Blackwell also confirmed that over $43,750 in expedited passport fees collected in 2023 and 2024 have already been transferred to the county.
Cobb Commission Chair Lisa Cupid acknowledged Taylor’s prior willingness to reimburse the funds but noted that determining the exact amount owed had been a challenge. Commissioner Keli Gambrill criticized the delay, asserting that the clerk’s office should have immediately returned the funds.
A whistleblower complaint in 2022 led to an investigation by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) into Taylor’s handling of passport fees. The whistleblower’s attorneys alleged that Taylor chastised an employee for inquiring about the funds and declared the fees were “her money.” They also claimed Taylor refused to provide records of how her predecessor handled the funds and allegedly ordered related documents to be deleted, stating, “We’re just going to Donald Trump this thing.”
The GBI completed its investigation and submitted its findings to Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr’s office, where the case remains under review.
The collection of passport fees has long been a source of supplemental income for some superior court clerks in Georgia. While applicants pay a $130 fee to the federal government, clerks are allowed to retain the $35 processing fee. A 2017 survey by the Association County Commissioners of Georgia found that 54 clerks or probate judges across the state kept some or all of these fees as personal income.
In response to growing concerns, lawmakers passed legislation in 2023 requiring superior court clerks to publicly disclose the amount of passport fees collected each quarter. Taylor’s first report under the new law is due by the end of March.
Taylor was reelected to her position in November 2024, and the Attorney General’s office has confirmed that the investigation into her office remains open.
Disclaimer: All data provided here is taken from public arrest records. This publication does not imply guilt or final conviction.
More Arrests in Featured on April 2, 2025
No other arrests found on this date in Featured.
