Sunday, January 6, 2013
The overall figure of $1.4 billion includes adjustments for such things as SDS-mandated service districts.
Gwinnett County's elected leaders unanimously approved Thursday a $1.4 billion budget for 2013. As with previous years, there were cuts, tough choices -- and no pay raises for county employees. But there also are signs that the economic woes that have plagued the county in recent years may be bottoming out. District 1 Commissioner Jace Brooks of Suwanee, who is beginning his first full term on the board, noted that the Gwinnett tax digest is projected to decline about 1.9 percent this year. That would be the smallest such decline in recent years, and the reduction in tax revenues has been a major problem for Gwinnett budgets recently. -- What are your thoughts on the Gwinnett 2013 budget, and future budgets? Share your opinions in the …
Thursday, January 3, 2013
The $1.3 billion spending plan is on the work session agenda for January 3.
Gwinnett commissioners could formally vote in the fiscal year 2013 budget on Thursday, January 3. The commissioners, who begin the year with two members who were not on the panel at the start of 2012, are scheduled to discuss the proposed budget at a 10 a.m. work session. If no hitches develop, the formal vote would take place at the 2 p.m. business meeting. The budget is about $1.3 billion (operating budget and capital expenditures budget), about 8.5 percent smaller than the 2012 budget. -- What are the key issues facing Gwinnett commissioners in 2013? Share your thoughts in the comments below. It's the first full-year Gwinnett County budget to be formulated since the Service Delivery Strategy (SDS) settlement with cities in Gwinnett last…
Monday, December 10, 2012
Public can comment on proposed 2013 budget at public hearing at 7 p.m. Dec. 10. No vote will be taken.
The Gwinnett Board of Commissioners will hold a special called meeting Monday, December 10, at 7 p.m. to allow public comment on the proposed 2013 budget. The planned $1.3 billion budget, a reduction from the 2012 spending plan, was rolled out in November. However, no formal vote on the 2013 budget is planned before January. Monday's meeting will be at the Gwinnett Justice and Administration Center, 75 Langley Drive in Lawrenceville. The 2013 budget is the first full county budget document since the Service Delivery Strategy (SDS0 settlement was reached in February 2012 between the county and cities in the Gwinnett Municipal Association. That settlement, among other things, mandated certain payments from the county to the cities and …
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
The proposed budget is 8.5 percent lower than the 2012 budget.
- GOVERNMENT
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Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Gwinnett Commission Chairman Charlotte Nash formally presented her proposed fiscal year 2013 budget to the Board of Commissioners on Tuesday. The proposed budget totals $1.3 billion, which is 8.5 percent lower than this year’s $1.43 billion. Six county residents and business people helped craft the proposed budget by serving on the Chairman’s budget review committee. After hearing presentations from elected officials and department directors, the group studied departmental business plans and revenue projections to make recommendations for the budget. The proposed budget preserves core services, maintains necessary reserves and addresses the impact of some legislated changes. It also adjusts for the loss of revenues resulting from a further…
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Government dealing with change and challenges in many areas of the county.
The Gwinnett County budget review sessions are done, and now county leaders will begin the process of finalizing the Fiscal Year 2012 spending plan. Dealing with a $30 million revenue shortfall will be difficult, but the sessions also showed a county that still continues to deal with strong growth and change. Some highlights from the sessions: -- The county's senior population continues to grow. By the year 2020, it will exceed 200,000 people and will be larger than the population of school age children (5-19) for the first time. The county has had 91,830 home delivered meals and 59,837 senior center meals to date in 2011. -- The county's Community Activities department plans a solar blanket pilot project for the Mountain Park pool in 2012…
Monday, September 12, 2011
County budget review sessions enter final day.
The Gwinnett County court system is requesting slightly less money for 2012 than under the current budget. But Superior Court Judge Tom Davis made it clear Monday that any further reductions are not recommended. "We've gone about as far as we can go," Davis told Gwinnett Commission Chairman Charlotte Nash and other county government leaders in Lawrenceville. The system that handles criminal, civil and domestic cases wants about $11.3 million, about $41,000 less than the current fiscal year. And Davis outlined cost pressures and workload figures to support his claim of a system stretched very thin. "If our system breaks, there's no way to throw enough money at it to fix it," Davis said. He noted two areas in which the county's 10 Superior …
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
Tax commissioner's office seeks additional staff for delinquent collections.
Updated Sept. 8, 2011. Gwinnett County began its budget process for the coming fiscal year Tuesday by hearing a request from the tax commissioner's office, the chief bill collector for the government and Gwinnett schools. Gwinnett Commission Chairman Charlotte Nash and Chief Financial Officer Aaron Bovos were among those at the session at the Justice and Administration Center in Lawrenceville, along with a hand-selected citizen review panel. Steele, whose department collects both property taxes and vehicle license fees, said his department wants an $11.1 million budget for FY 2012. The commissioner wants to add up to four full-time staffers to seek deliquent taxes from businesses. "Business inventory is much easier to walk (without paying …
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, April 19, 2011
Twenty firefighter positions to remain unfilled.
- GOVERNMENT
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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 …
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 ›