SaveGwinnett.com

The County Commission’s announcement came as a surprise to no one… the Collins Hill Golf Club (formerly Springbrook Golf Club) is unable to pay its bills and, as the club’s guarantor, the county—meaning taxpayers—is in the process of repossessing the property. The county assumed responsibility for the $9,700 loan payment last month and will take full possession soon.

While I, personally, do not believe that government should be in the golf business, I recognize that Gwinnett residents have not only not complained about the county’s provision of recreation facilities and programs but have agreed to be taxed a little bit extra to pay for them.

Read more…

From TalkGwinnett.com today:

We’re in tough times, economically speaking. It makes sense to look at every public contract to see if any extra pennies can be pinched. If that is what Gwinnett’s State Court judges were trying to do when it picked a new private probation company, it sure doesn’t look that way.talkgwinnett.com, Gwinnett Judges Exercise Poor Judgment | TalkGwinnett.com, Apr 2010

You should read the whole article.

With the approval of the revised budget on Tuesday, the County Commission has given $500,000 of your tax hike dollars to the Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce. Read more…

SaveGwinnett is forming an exploratory committee to examine Gwinnett County’s ethics policy. The group’s goal will be to formulate a plan for improving the policy, 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.

I have received indications from reliable sources that the Commission will vote to adopt the full 2.28 mill tax increase after tonight’s public hearing.

The inclusion of 2010 budget items in this 2009 supplemental millage rate is UNPRECEDENTED and UNNECESSARY. As a result, the tax increase to be passed tonight will be 32% higher than it arguably should be, because of the 2010 items which total $19.8 million. Read more…

The County Commission spent approximately two hours on Monday hearing primarily from angry residents, most of whom adamantly oppose the proposed 2.28 mill tax increase. The third and final hearing will be held on Tuesday, December 1 at 7:00 pm in the auditorium of the Gwinnett Justice and Administration Center.

As promised, what follows is my compromise proposal. It is based, in no small amount, on the mostly thoughtful feedback that I have received from the dozens of you. It is also founded, however, on a very hefty dose of political and financial reality, as well as my desire to move forward and make something positive out of a very bad situation.   Read more…

Earlier this year, the public (correctly, in my opinion) revolted over a proposed 30% tax increase. The 2009 budget approved on March 3 (large file) contained expenditures that were unjustified in the current financial climate– a light rail study, GPS in county vehicles and $1.06 million for a “Go Green Initiative,” to name just a few of the items on the Commissioners’ wish list.

The increase was also going to pay, however, for some pretty important stuff– the equipping and staffing of three new fire stations; 58 new police officers and equipment; the reestablishment of the Quality of Life unit; and several prosecutors and investigators in the District Attorney’s office. (Pictured: Station 30 on Ozora Road in Loganville-Grayson; finished but empty)

Not only are those items in jeopardy, but the rejection of the earlier increase also necessitated additional service cuts beyond those already incorporated into the budget. For example, early retirements and layoffs have cut “back office” functions, like general administration and Planning & Development, to the bone, even after 108 positions had been eliminated in the initial budget. A planned pay raise has been abandoned as well. Read more…

Last month, I described how the foundation for Gwinnett’s current financial woes was laid years ago through a series of bad decisions and flawed financial strategies. One series of actions by the County Commission is, in my opinion, most relevant to the current state of affairs.

For the past four years, the County Commission has not raised your property tax rate. Believe it or not, that was a bad thing.

For a couple of decades, Gwinnett benefited financially from being one of the fastest growing counties in the nation. Gwinnett’s explosive growth built fire stations, libraries, a state-of-the-art water reclamation facility and more. A fairly stable millage rate applied to a growing tax base funneled tax dollars into county coffers.

There is, however, a continuing cost associated with the operation of public facilities– staff, maintenance, utilities and the like. Around 2005, the annual increases in the cost of government began to outpace the growth in the Net Tax Digest. The county’s tax base was “maturing” as the inventory of developable land decreased.

This maturation was anticipated by the county’s financial forecasters, but ignored by the County Commission. That year, the Commission under Chairman Charles Bannister embarked on a flawed, politically-driven financial strategy that would hamstring the county’s efforts to respond to the looming crisis. Read more…

The Gwinnett County Commission has again proposed a millage rate increase to fund the restoration of most services that were slashed from the budget in June when taxpayers revolted against a 35% hike. The second proposal, slimmed down but still substantial, will come up for a vote on December 1 after three public hearings.

Gwinnett taxpayers are in no mood for a tax increase. Little has changed from the summer when hundreds of citizens rallied in Suwanee to denounce it.

Over the next two weeks, I plan to analyze various aspects of the tax hike proposal– how we arrived at this place in time; what is included in the increase and what is not; what is right about it and what is wrong.

If you’re totally against a tax increase, you face an uphill battle. The reality is that there are already enough votes to pass the tax hike as proposed. Chairman Bannister has signaled that he will support it, as has Kevin Kenerly, who isn’t running for reelection. Shirley Lasseter is a sure second vote for Bannister; Bert Nasuti is also a lame duck but is open to reason. Only Mike Beaudreau is expected to oppose it. Read more…

The final budget adopted on March 3 required a millage (property tax) increase of approximately 30 percent, despite approximately $40 million in cost savings and revenue enhancements identified by department heads. Citizen outrage caused the County Commission to reject the tax hike in total, necessitating significant  additional reductions in existing and planned service levels. Read more…