BREAKING: Citizens to demand Kenerly's resignation tonight at GJAC, 5 pm, before the public hearing.
Join the Movement to Save Gwinnett!
Gwinnett County is in trouble. There is a vacuum of innovation and leadership… and that’s before the resignations and indictments! The special grand jury’s report highlights just one of a series of lapses in judgment and ethics– the sanitation plan and resulting lawsuits; and the failure to reach agreement with Gwinnett’s cities on service delivery, to name just a couple more. The answers must come from the people of Gwinnett.
You can be a part of the peoples’ effort to Save Gwinnett from the politicians!
SaveGwinnett will examine short-term fixes and long-term solutions to the county’s ills. Working together, we will develop a set of policies to steer the county in the right direction and by which future candidates for local office can be measured.
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Click here to learn how to become part of the effort to SAVE GWINNETT!
E-Verify: Protecting Jobs, Cutting Costs
Illegal immigrants constitute a significant drain on public resources. They also take jobs that should be filled by legal citizens; jobs that are critically important to our local economy during the ongoing recession.
Our county officials have at their disposal a very effective tool to minimize the impact of illegal immigration on our community. For example, the Commission could require that employers enroll in E-Verify to receive or renew a business license. Requiring businesses to verify that their employees are eligible to work will eliminate the attraction of jobs for illegal aliens and preserve those jobs for legal residents currently out of work.
What do you think? Do you approve a requirement that employers verify their employees? Do you oppose? Do you need more information?
SaveGwinnett Explores County Ethics Policies
SaveGwinnett is forming an online group to examine Gwinnett County’s ethics policy. The group’s goal will be to formulate a plan for improving the policy, using the 2007 ethics study, for presentation to the County Commission at a later date. If you would like to participate in the group, contact us at somebody@savegwinnett.com. The invitation closes on Tuesday, November 30.
The Correct Tax Rate: Honesty in Taxation
In 2009, Gwinnett taxpayers suffered their first tax increase in many years. The late-year hike of over 20% hit Gwinnett residents especially hard. The assessment was collected in a special March 2010 billing, only to be followed by the regular 2010 assessment which not only included the higher tax rate but also 18 months of sanitation service… 12 months paid in advance.
Most taxpayers do not know that, since at least 2005, the County Commission has adopted deficit tax rates… in other words, the millage rate was artificially lower than was needed to fully fund the budget. This necessitated draws on reserves in most years, a practice that caused the county to be unable to adequately respond to the economic downturn. As a result, a tax increase was the only way to refill the county’s reserves.
