Wednesday, September 7, 2011
County begins planning for fiscal year 2012.
Gwinnett County had to close a large budget gap in the current fiscal year, and it won't get easier for fiscal year 2012. County Commission Chairman Charlotte Nash said Tuesday that budget planners are looking at a revenue shortfall of about $30 million as they plan for the next fiscal year. Nash cited the continued decline in the Gwinnett tax digest and uncertain funding from the state as factors for the shortfall. Nash, speaking Tuesday as budget review plans began in Lawrenceville, said that revenue projections are "not hard and fast." Also, planners have to deal with both the operating budget and capital expenditures. "Capital spending is the wild card," Nash said. "It's harder to tie down." This is Nash's first budget since she was …
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
County's FY 2012 budget review team including five citizens starts planning sessions Tuesday.
- GOVERNMENT
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Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Gwinnett County Commission Chairman Charlotte Nash is allowing five county residents to be part of the county's budget review team as it begins planning for the fiscal year 2012 budget Tuesday. The citizens reviewing the budget will be Herman Pennamon, Southern Company’s community relations manager; David Crews, CFO of Viewpoint Health; Lois Love, a Gwinnett County retiree who was the county’s capital budget manager; Laurie McClain, a CPA with McClain & Company, PC; and Norwood Davis, CFO of 12Stone Church. County officials will hold budget planning sessions on Tuesday, Sept. 6, Wednesday, Sept. 7, and Monday, Sept. 12 at the Gwinnett Justice and Administration Center in Lawrenceville. The budget is scheduled to be presented to …
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Commissioners voted to reduce millage rate by .23 mils.
- GOVERNMENT
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Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Gwinnett County property owners got a tax break, albeit a small one, Monday when commissioners voted to reduce the millage rate. “The rate was lowered from 13.25 mils to 13.02 mils,” said Joe Sorenson, communications director for Gwinnett County. “The .23 mil reduction was in the bond levy, which fell from .47 mils to .24 mils.” The vote was taken at a special called meeting of the Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners. Sorenson said the reduced millage rate would mean an annual saving of about $15.60 for the typical homeowner. He said the drop was due to the retirement of debt. This adds to the relief for Snellville citizens, who are also getting a tax break. "There had been some discussion about transferring it to reduce other …
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Charlotte Nash, chairwoman of the Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners, pointed to restoring public trust and budget crisis as key issues. Video attached.
More than 500 business and community leaders filled the Gwinnett Center's Tommy Hughes Ballroom to hear Charlotte Nash offer her first state of the county address, as chairwoman of the county's Board of Commissioners. (Video of event and PDF of entire speech is attached.) The annual event, which usually take place in January, was delayed until a special election this past March was held to decide on a new county Board of Commissioners leader. Newly elected Nash replaced Charles Bannister who resigned last fall in the midst of a grand jury probe over county land deals. Nash, a former county administrator, took over the top spot during a failing economy that has forced the county to look for every means to cut expenses and reduce spending. …
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Changes include using part time deputies for courtroom security, reducing transit operations expenditures and eliminating one job.
- GOVERNMENT
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Wednesday, May 18, 2011
The Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners approved further cost cutting measures Tuesday in an attempt to avoid draining the county’s reserve balance. Earlier this month, Gwinnett County chief financial officer Aaron Bovos warned the county’s reserve balance could be "wiped out" in 2015 unless actions are taken. On Tuesday, commissioners voted to eliminate a planned $15 million building/acquisition project. Commissioners also approved just over half a million dollars in spending cuts which include using part-time deputy sheriffs for courtroom security, cutting money from the General Fund for transit operations and eliminating one job in Water Resources. Gwinnett County revenues have decreased due to a continued high rate of foreclosures …
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Twenty firefighter positions to remain unfilled.
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Tuesday, April 19, 2011
New cost cutting measures approved by the Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners will save the county an estimated $1.5 million. The approved cuts include $722,000 from the Fire and Emergency Services budget and $127,000 from the Gwinnett County Police Department budget. Elections, transportation, support services and community services budgets will also be cut. Additionally, minor reductions in law, fleet, water, sewer and stormwater expenses were included. Four jobs will be eliminated -- three vacant jobs in transportation and one in transit -- and 20 vacant firefighter positions will remain unfilled. Commissioners also approved a recommendation to increase fees for participants in the Work Alternative Program. First time offenders in …
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
TSPLOST, service levels among topics discussed at GOP forum.
If there was a theme to Monday's candidate forum, it concerned the role of local government. The four candidates for chair of the Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners - Will Costa, Larry Gause, Duane Kissel and Charlotte Nash - were asked to share their views on a variety of topics, but the discussion kept returning to what purpose government is meant to fulfill. For Lilburn resident Will Costa, the government’s role is to make hard decisions. “If we don’t stop the business as usual, we’re not going to make it,” he said. “The hard decisions we have to make now are going to be a lot harder later.” Those hard decisions, Costa said, include working with MARTA, dealing with the fact that Gwinnett is part of a larger metro area, reassessing …
Friday, January 21, 2011
Some candidates have favorable view of transportation tax, others opposed to the 1 percent sales tax.
In the sixth and final segment of our weeklong series, Dacula Patch asked each of the candidates for chair of the Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners if he or she favored the imposition of a 1 percent sales tax to fund transportation projects (editor's note: The orginal version of this article referred to the tax as a statewide tax. It will be voted on statewide, but will be implemented by region according to the outcome of the vote within each region.) The transportation tax, or TSPLOST, is set to go before the voters in 2012. Candidates Charlotte Nash of Dacula, Larry Gause of Tucker, Gerald Duane Kissel of Snellville and Will Costa of Lilburn were each asked if they support the TSPLOST and what projects they would like to see funded …
Thursday, January 20, 2011
The four political hopefuls offer different solutions for making up budget shortfall.
In part five of our weeklong series, Dacula Patch asked each of the candidates for chair of the Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners how he or she would balance the county’s budget. Gwinnett County’s 2011 budget included subsidy cuts and a 15 percent reduction in library funding. Officials project the tax digest will shrink another nine percent this year and expect further revenue declines on 2012. The next chair of the Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners will not only have to deal with these declining revenues, but also address the county’s $18 million budget deficit. Each of the candidates expressed opposition to a property tax increase at this time, but offered varying opinions regarding how best to address the budget shortfall. …
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Trash plan remains unpopular with several candidates.
In part four of our weeklong series, Dacula Patch asked each of the candidates for chair of the Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners if he or she favored modifying or repealing the county trash plan. Though conceding repeal of the trash plan would be difficult at this point due to contractual obligations, several candidates expressed displeasure with the way the trash plan was implemented. Candidates Charlotte Nash of Dacula, Larry Gause of Tucker, Gerald Duane Kissel of Snellville and Will Costa of Lilburn were each asked to weigh in on the county run program. Dacula Patch did not limit the length of the responses. Each candidate’s answer is presented unedited and in its entirety. Dacula Patch asked, “Are you in favor of modifying or …
Paula Martin
2:46 pm on Friday, September 9, 2011
A note from the Tax Commissioner's office: The Tax Commissioner budget request for 2012 is $168k less than last year and reflects an ongoing effort by the Tax Commissioner to efficiently collect all taxes due the County and to do so with outstanding customer service. The $2M increase referenced in the budget hearings is the result of a full-cost allocation plan approved in July of this year. This… more ›