CorinthHills.org

By Jamie Ward
Staff Writer
Gwinnett Daily Post

LAWRENCEVILLE - Just one day after a Gwinnett County Superior Court judge trashed the county’s new solid waste ordinance, the county found itself scrambling Friday to reassure residents that garbage and recycling service will continue despite the injunction.

And rest assured the county said, there will still be trash pickup after the New Year despite the current garbage snafu.

“As a result of this temporary order, the county will continue to operate under the old garbage collection system, which allows customers to contract with the hauler of their choosing,” the county statement read. “Existing haulers will be able to continue to operate in the county. County officials are working to set up a meeting with haulers as soon as possible.”

Six of the current eight haulers that operate in unincorporated Gwinnett were set to leave when the new plan took effect Jan. 1. That plan was halted by Judge Michael Clark on Thursday when he granted a preliminary injunction sought by local garbage haulers Southern Sanitation and Sanitation Solutions.

One hauler - Republic Services (formerly Robertson Sanitation) - issued a statement Friday which said its 90,000 customers will be getting their trash picked up as normal. It also released some good news for its Allied Waste Services customers who were charged a $23.50 “year-end transition fee” earlier this year. Republic acquired Allied Waste earlier this month.

“If you are one of the 25,000 customers we welcomed in December as part of our acquisition of Allied Waste, your $23.50 transition fee has been waived,” the statement read. “If you already paid the fee, you will receive a credit for the full amount on an upcoming bill.”

Calls to Waste Industries, the other firm who charged customers a $23.50 deactivation/demobilization fee, were unreturned Friday.

According to Buddy Johnson, the owner of Southern Sanitation, he and Kevin Byrd of Sanitation Solutions will also be servicing their clients in the new year without interruption.

“We’ll keep servicing the customers we got and we’d be glad to take more on in the areas we service,” Johnson said.

Anthony Grutadaurio, a spokesman for Red Oak Sanitation, shared in Johnson’s sentiment.

“Based on the judge’s order, the judge said status quo,” Grutadaurio said. “We plan on picking up our customer’s garbage on Jan. 2 as normal like it’s a continuation of today. And we’re delighted to have the opportunity to continue providing service to the customers of Gwinnett.”

County Administrator Jock Connell said to handle questions from concerned residents about their trash pickup, a call center has been established that will begin operations Tuesday at 8 a.m. The number there is 770-822-7141. He also said residents can check for updates about how service will be handled in light of the ruling on its Web site - www.gwinnettcounty.com. Connell said he wanted to assure people that more information on this evolving issue will be forthcoming as answers become available.

“Clearly the court has made a decision that immediately affects how Gwinnett County manages solid waste,” Connell said. “The Board of Commissioners also heard loud and clear from the public. While we still believe in the basic concepts of the new solid waste plan - reducing waste in our landfills and increasing recycling opportunities - we will look at adjustments to the plan in the next year keeping in mind concerns gleaned from our constituents.”

For Johnson, he thinks a large majority of the constituents of Gwinnett County have already said what they want. And they screamed it out at Tuesday’s Board of Commissioners meeting when the topic was being discussed - free choice.

“The citizens are happy with the direction its headed in now,” Johnson said. “The public outcry was pretty big.”

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By PATRICK FOX
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Gwinnett County officials said Friday the county’s existing garbage pickup system will continue to operate after a judge blocked the start of a new plan that consolidated collections and mandated and expanded recycling.

“While we still believe in the basic concepts of the new solid waste plan - reducing waste in our landfills and increasing recycling opportunities - we will look at adjustments to the plan in the next year, keeping in mind concerns gleaned from our constituents,” County Administrator Jock Connell said in a statement.

The new program had been set to begin Jan. 2, but was derailed Thursday when Superior Court Judge Michael C. Clark granted an injunction to stop it. Clark said the county had improperly delegated governmental powers to Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful Services, a private non-profit corporation charged with implementing the new plan. He also objected to the method by which it awarded contracts.

Some residents are receiving two garbage collection bills this month - one from their hauler under the new system and one from their current hauler. Most of the major haulers serving residents in unincorporated Gwinnett welcomed the judge’s decision and say they plan to continue operations.

Jeanie Dubinski, general counsel for Waste Pro, one of the two haulers GC&B Services selected for the new program, said those residents who have paid for service will receive it. Those who paid the first-month’s bill will receive service through January, she said, adding that the company sent out the bills in accordance with its contract with GC&B Services.

The other company contracted under the now-voided program was Advanced Disposal. Attempts to reach company officials were unsuccessful.

A spokesman for Republic Services, the county’s largest hauler with some 90,000 accounts, said its trucks will continue to roll. “There should be no change in services for any of the customers that we’ve served in the past,” said company spokesman Will Flower.

Republic operates in Gwinnett County as BFI and Robertson Sanitation. BFI customers were assessed a $23.50 transition fee in September to help pay for closing operations at the end of the year. That fee, Flower said, is now being waived, and customers will receive a full credit.

A spokesperson for Waste Industries, which imposed the same fee in late November, said the company hopes to make an announcement of its plans Monday.

Both Southern Sanitation and Sanitation Solutions, the two companies that filed for the injunction, say they will continue service with no interruption.

“We’re going to continue to offer the customers service as usual,” said Red Oak Sanitation operating manager Anthony Grutadaurio. The company serves about 4,000 Gwinnett households.

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By Jamie Ward
Staff Writer
Gwinnett Daily Post

LAWRENCEVILLE

That was the message delivered Thursday by Gwinnett Superior Court Judge Michael Clark in granting a temporary preliminary injunction to local garbage haulers Southern Sanitation and Sanitation Solutions. What the injunction now means is that come Jan. 1, the county’s garbage service for unincorporated residents will remain as it is currently.

“It’s an answered prayer,” said Southern Sanitation’s owner Buddy Johnson. “The employees and my family are excited. We had total confidence in Gov. Roy Barnes and our case and now in the life of the company.”

This recent garbage saga began Nov. 7 when Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful awarded two exclusive contracts over 7-year-periods to Florida-based firms Advanced Disposal Services and Waste Pro. What this action would have done was force six current garbage haulers out of the county once the new plan took effect Jan. 1.

Because Southern Sanitation and Sanitation Solutions were small, local businesses with most of their work in Gwinnett, they argued they’d be forced out of business as a result of the new plan and filed suit seeking to keep things as they are. What they specifically had a problem with were two issues. The first dealt with a private, nonprofit corporation like Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful doing the county’s business in enforcing the solid waste plan, and the second had to do with what the firms said were unfair bidding practices that favored large corporations.

In its ruling, the court agreed with them on both issues.

County Administrator Jock Connell said the county was still reviewing the ruling at 5:50 p.m. to make sure they understood it, but added that they would be releasing a statement in response to it within 24 hours.

Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful, the nonprofit private corporation that had been chosen by the county to enforce and manage the new waste plan, did deliver a statement in response to the 16-page ruling that came down at about 4 p.m.

“We are studying the court’s order and considering legal alternatives,” said Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful spokesperson Karen Miller. “Additionally, in view of the court’s ruling, we are ready to assist the county to consider every possible way for the citizens of Gwinnett County to continue to receive solid waste disposal services.”

Miller said more answers and guidelines to follow for affected residents would be forthcoming.

The court determined in its ruling that Gwinnett County did indeed delegate legislative authority to Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful in authorizing it to carry out and enforce its solid waste ordinance. The court said this was something not allowed under the Constitution.

“As a matter of fact, the court finds that Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful Services has the right to set rates for residential customers, to regulate and set fees for commercial customers, to set rates for registration of new customers, to provide enforcement by a sworn deputy sheriff for violation of the ordinances and agreement, and to choose exclusive franchise providers and service areas,” the ruling read. “The court finds that all of these are governmental and not merely administrative functions.”

Prior to the ruling being issued, District 3 Commissioner Mike Beaudreau said he had a concern with the $500 fine that could be levied on residents for not being in compliance with the new ordinance.

“That’s my biggest issue,” Beaudreau said. “And I don’t like this idea of a trash Gestapo either.”

District 2 Commissioner Bert Nasuti had similar feelings.

“The fact is this still falls back on us and we have to address the issues,” Nasuti said. “And now we’ll get a chance to. But we’re going to have to have a trash system that is more than what we had.”

Nasuti added that he thought Tuesday’s Board of Commissioners meeting ended on a good note despite numerous residents standing up to voice their displeasure with the proposed plan. He said he was taking notes in listening to them and now agrees with some of the people’s complaints and frustrations.

“People need to understand that the changes implemented were driven by citizen complaints,” he said. “But the people are raising some good points.”

Nasuti said, like Beaudreau, he wasn’t thrilled with the idea of a $500 fine either or with the fact that people couldn’t voluntarily opt out of the program.

“If you take your trash to your place of business, that’s a good point,” he said. “And the issues with the bonding - I didn’t know it was a $2 million bond that was required of haulers and that objection is a pretty legitimate point too,” he said. “Should it be higher than $150,000? Maybe.”

The court ruling issued further stated that the request for proposal process implemented by Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful Services “violated basic competitive bidding procedures.” The problems the court had involved the $2 million performance bond required of the two haulers to bid and the changing of the request for proposal process in the middle of that process while that process was still ongoing.

“During the process, the eight districts set forth in the request for proposal were reduced to six districts and all six districts were awarded to two providers,” the ruling read. “This is contrary to the request for proposal and the Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful Services’ contract with Gwinnett County.”

The ruling further stated that the performance bond, the $100,000 proposal fee and audited and reviewed financial statements “provided a high burden to local providers who, without contradiction, have been operating successfully and well in Gwinnett County for years.”

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By PATRICK FOX
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Thursday, December 18, 2008

A Superior Court judge Thursday blocked implementation of Gwinnett County’s new trash disposal program - leaving some 180,000 households in the unincorporated areas of the county wondering who will pick up their garbage in January.

Judge Michael C. Clark ruled the county plan, which was to begin Jan. 2, violated state law by delegating governmental functions to a private entity, Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful Services. The nonprofit corporation had been tapped by the county to administer a new waste program that expanded and mandated recycling and that consolidated service by contracting with two haulers.

Clark granted the injunction sought by Southern Sanitation and Sanitation Solutions, two haulers who said the new program would run them out of business.

“This is an answered prayer,” said Buddy Johnson, owner of Southern Sanitation. “As far as I understand, we’re still in business, and all our employees will be very excited.”

Representatives from Gwinnett County met Thursday evening to discuss the ruling.

Deputy County Administrator Mike Comer said officials are working to put something together quickly so residents will know what’s happening with their garbage collection.

Jane Langley, spokeswoman for Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful Services, said the organization was still studying the ruling and considering legal alternatives.

“In view of the court’s ruling,” she said, “we are ready to assist the county to consider every possible way for the citizens of Gwinnett County to continue to receive solid waste disposal service.”

Kevin Byrd, owner of Sanitation Solutions, said the ruling was a testament to all the support his company has received from residents. “We look forward to continuing to service our customers,” he said. “We’re excited about this news, and I think citizens will be also.”

Clark also took issue with the handling of the process by which the agency selected its two haulers. The original request for proposals said Gwinnett would be divided into eight zones and that no one hauler would be allowed to service more than three zones, meaning at least three haulers would be selected, the ruling states.

But during the selection process, the number of zones was reduced to six, and GC&B Services awarded the contracts to Advanced Disposal Services and Waste Pro, both with headquarters in Florida.

Gwinnett residents now hire private haulers for garbage collection. Most of the eight current haulers have said they plan to continue service through the first of the year.

“I’ve never seen a government target its own small businessmen,” said attorney Roy Barnes, who represented the two haulers. “This is the best example of politicians saying one thing and doing another that I’ve ever seen.”

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Thursday, December 11, 2008 is proving to be a very important day in Gwinnett County.

The Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners will hold a public hearing regarding the 2009 budget on Thursday, December 11, 2008 at 7:00 pm, at the Gwinnett Justice and Administration Complex.

The 2009 proposal includes a $43 million shortfall in the county’s primary operating fund, the general fund, a gap that could be closed only by cutting millions of dollars in spending, raising taxes or depleting the county’s shrinking rainy day fund. The county already expects to spend $45 million from that fund this year to cover increased expenses and costs for its new baseball stadium.

For more on the Gwinnett budget crisis scroll down this page or search CorinthHills.org

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Gwinnett County Public Schools (GCPS) - The Gwinnett County Board of Education will hold a public hearing on its proposed “IE2 Partnership Contract for Improving Student Achievement” with the Georgia Board of Education. The IE2 (Investing in Educational Excellence) contract would allow the school system to receive flexibility for its schools from specified state statutes and/or rules in exchange for greater accountability for student achievement. The hearing will be held on Thursday, December 11, 2008, at 6:30 p.m. in the Board Room at Gwinnett County Public Schools’ Instructional Support Center, 437 Old Peachtree Road, NW, Suwanee, GA.

Click here to view details of the IE2 plan from the GCPS website…

One Response To “Go To Meetin’ Time”

1. Admin Says:
   December 11th, 2008 at 9:35 AM

   By D. AILEEN DODD
   The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

   Wednesday, December 10, 2008

   Gwinnett County School officials will go before the public Thursday to discuss the district’s plan to raise student performance by opting out of state mandates some school officials believe restrict their ability to significantly elevate standardized test scores.

   Officials expect a packed hall of parents and teachers at the district headquarters in Suwanee as well as scrutiny from afar, from interested state lawmakers studying the proposal.

   Click here for the full story…

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By Camie Young
Senior Writer
Gwinnett Daily Post

YOUNG HARRIS - A day after focusing possible cuts to county government, a commissioner said Tuesday revenues should be explored.

During a government planning session, Commissioner Kevin Kenerly set a goal of “revenue balancing,” asking officials to analyze the millage rate and water and sewer rates as they struggle to balance the budget.

Kenerly - who left the retreat early because of a family medical emergency, asking County Administrator Jock Connell to announce his three initiatives - was not available for comment.

But Chairman Charles Bannister asked his staff to work on a proposal to impose a local option sales tax to take the place of some property tax revenues, an idea debated during his 2008 re-election campaign.

As far as Commissioner Mike Beaudreau is concerned, a tax increase isn’t an option, although he said a tax rollback that has become common place during the last decade may not happen this year.

With a proposed budget calling for spending $43 million out of the county’s reserve fund, the county’s financial situation is a top priority for 2009, commissioners said during a goal-setting session Tuesday at the end of the annual three-day planning retreat.

“I’m mainly concerned in this next year with finances, and surviving for our citizens. We have to survive so they can,” said Commissioner-elect Shirley Fanning-Lasseter, who plans to submit a goal list after she is sworn in in January.

After discussions Monday about the possibility of cutting millions of dollars worth of services and special events, the commissioners’ list of new initiatives could call for even more costs.

Beaudreau said he wanted the county to consider doubling the 29 new police officers proposed in the 2009 budget, as well as considering building an indoor aquatic center, possibly in conjunction with Georgia Gwinnett College.

While Bannister asked staff to study a light-rail transit option along the Norfolk-Southern train route from Norcross to Sugar Hill, Beaudreau asked that officials revamp the Gwinnett Transit bus system, trading some local routes for business-friendly commuter options.

Commissioner Bert Nasuti said business ventures should be paramount in the slowing economic environment, and he offered solutions to Gwinnett’s declining neighborhoods such as the continued pursuit of a rental housing ordinance, stiffer overcrowding laws and a process to work with banks to make sure foreclosed properties aren’t abandoned.

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By Jamie Ward
Staff Writer
Gwinnett Daily Post

LAWRENCEVILLE - Two locally owned garbage haulers had their day in court Wednesday to challenge the legality of the county’s new solid waste plan. And the only thing decided by the end of that day was that the haulers, county officials and Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful would all be returning to court Friday at 1:30 p.m.

“We’re asking for this preliminary injunction in order to keep the status quo in place,” said the hauler’s attorney, former Gov. Roy Barnes. “We believe the citizens of Gwinnett can look after their own business better than the government, especially as it pertains to garbage.”

With the new waste plan set to take effect Jan 1, haulers Sanitation Solutions and Southern Sanitation were in Judge Michael Clark’s Superior Court courtroom seeking the injunction, which would in effect keep them operating in the county as they currently are once their contracts expire at year’s end. According to the Gwinnett County Quarter Three Solid Waste Franchise report, Southern Sanitation services 4,805 residences and Sanitation Solutions has 375. Both will service zero in unincorporated Gwinnett when the new plan takes effect.

According to Barnes, before the court were two issues. The first concerned whether Gwinnett County had the legal ability to delegate legislative authority to the nonprofit, private corporation Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful to administer the county’s solid waste program. The second issue dealt with whether the request for proposal process conducted by Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful to award the service contracts was completed fairly and competitively.

At one point during the argument concerning legislative authority, attorney Frank Jenkins, representing the county, said, “The county has the right to choose whomever it wants to administer the program.”

The plaintiffs took issue with this mentality. Barnes’ contention was, how can a private corporation like Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful have the authority to administer fines and fees related to the county’s solid waste ordinance?

By the testimony delivered, it was determined that under the ordinance, the Sheriff could technically deputize employees of Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful, which would then give those employees the authority to act as the “garbage police” for the county. Under the new ordinance, the “garbage police” could then potentially levy $500 fines on residents who weren’t in compliance with the law.

“Your argument of consequences is falling on deaf ears,” Clark said. “But if what you did is illegal, I will stop it.”

When the arguments commenced over what the plaintiffs said was an unfair request for proposal process, owner Buddy Johnson of Southern Sanitation reiterated his statements made previously in this newspaper. He questioned the county’s service zones changing during the bid process from eight to six and also called into question the $2 million performance bond required of his company to compete. He also said obtaining reviewed financial statements in such a short time was too costly for a small business owner like himself.

“I knew they needed to level the playing field or it would be tough for a small business to operate,” he said. “But we assumed it would be a fair process.”

When Jenkins showed him contracts he signed in November 2007 stating he knew the county was making changes to the way it conducted garbage hauling, Johnson responded, “We knew there were changes coming and we thought we’d be a part of those changes. Based on my record in the county, I had no reason to believe I wouldn’t receive another contract.”

Johnson also reiterated under oath a December 2007 conversation he had with Chairman Charles Bannister following a public hearing concerning the new solid waste plan. At that time, Johnson said Bannister told him, “Nobody is going to put you out of business.”

Johnson said if the plan goes forward, he will be forced into bankruptcy as 90 percent of his clientele resides in Gwinnett County.

Bannister was asked if he recalled that conversation.

“I recall speaking to Mr. Johnson at the meeting, but I do not remember what I said to him a year ago as much as the gist of the conversation. It would be uncharacteristic of me to predict an outcome of a process or decision that I was not completely controlling,” Bannister wrote in an e-mail. “I recall him believing that a new plan would put him out of business.”

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By PATRICK FOX
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Tuesday, December 09, 2008

Lawyers for two sanitation disposal companies will appear in Gwinnett Superior Court at 9 a.m. Wednesday trying to stop implementation of the county’s new solid waste disposal plan.

The companies are seeking an injunction against Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful, alleging the nonprofit agency in charge of administering the program has no legal authority to manage the county’s waste disposal service.

Attorney Roy Barnes, who is representing Southern Sanitation and Sanitation Solutions, said Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful, aided and abetted by Gwinnett County, is depriving the two companies of their right to do business.

“I’ve never seen a county try to take a fellow’s business,” Barnes said. “It’s outrageous.”

Attempts to reach officials at Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful were unsuccessful.

The suit charges that the county cannot delegate legislative authority to a private corporation. It claims that administrative fees, which Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful will levy against customers, amounts to a tax.

The suit also alleges that in its request for bids, Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful promised there would be eight service areas and that no more than one provider would serve any three areas. The agency later divided the county into six service zones and awarded exclusive rights of service to two companies with headquarters out of state.

In addition, the suit alleges, the bidding process was fixed in favor of the big companies from the start. Applicants for the service zones had to be able to post a $2 million performance bond, almost 15 times the $150,000 bond required to operate in the county currently. This, the suit says, eliminated the small haulers who had serviced Gwinnett County for years.

The suit is seeking to stop the county’s plan to implement the new solid waste program, scheduled to begin Jan. 2. It also seeks compensation and attorneys’ fees for the plaintiffs.

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Gwinnett Daily Post

LAWRENCEVILLE - The elimination of emergency medical services and closing of the county prison are possibilities in Gwinnett’s financial crisis.

They were among 152 recommendations in the draft report of the Service-Value-Responsibility study, and could cut as much as $79 million in the county’s budget.

From the cutting of small programs such as the annual lighting of the Christmas tree and Fourth of July celebration and providing lights on Interstate 85 to cutting staff, furloughs and possibly implementing a four-day work week, those recommendations and the county’s finances in a time of tight revenues will be the main topics of discussion during a three-day county government retreat beginning today in Young Harris.

“Clearly everything is on the table,” Deputy County Administrator Mike Comer said of the draft. He said the issues will be taken up during several discussions over the coming weeks. “We have to make some hard decisions. I won’t speculate on what those decisions will turn out to be.”

The cost-cutting recommendations were formulated over the past three months by 70 employees working in nine teams, investigating county spending by functions, such as public safety efficiency, rates and fees, administrative departments review, back office functions such as human resources and purchasing and supplies and inventory.

The goal of the study was to find $35 million in savings in the county’s operating expenses, which was roughly the same amount of spending of the county reserve fund expected in 2008. In 2009, though, that could increase to $43 million, according to a proposed budget released earlier this week.

One measure, the cutting of more than 100 positions in the Planning and Development and Water Resources departments, was announced last month.

But more cuts could include the elimination of funding for the Gwinnett Public Library, community schools, Parternship Gwinnett, the hospital, revitalization efforts and more. Revenues could be found from increasing business license fees, ambulance transport fees and the cost to adopt a pet from the animal shelter. Officials could even consider selling advertisement space on county water towers.

The annual retreat, which was opened to judges and other elected officials this year, is expected to cost about $15,000.

County Administrator Jock Connell said the timing was unfortunate during a time of layoffs, but he said the retreat is more important than ever.

“We’re in a situation where the strategic direction of the county is critically important,” Connell said. “It’s important to get away and determine what the future of this county will be. …

“It does come at a terrible time, but we’ve got to go. We’ve got to continue to plan because tomorrow is going to come.”

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By PATRICK FOX
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Thursday, December 04, 2008

While neighboring counties encourage recycling, Gwinnett County’s new solid waste management ordinance puts teeth into it. The ordinance provides for a civil fine of $500 for violations, which includes those who fail to “source separate residential recovered materials.”

Mandatory recycling is not common in metro Atlanta, but Gwinnett County Commission Chairman Charles Bannister said the move is in line with a state policy that local governments develop plans to reduce solid waste by 25 percent.

“We want to save landfills as long as we can,” Bannister said. “Nobody wants to open up a new landfill.”

The state has tied solid waste reduction to applications for new landfills.

“We don’t intend for this to be the garbage gestapo, running around, looking in people’s garbage about what’s there and what’s not there,” said Connie Wiggins, executive director of Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful, which is administering Gwinnett’s waste disposal program. “I believe the fine applies to all categories, and certainly, if we saw excessive abuses of materials being thrown in the garbage.”

The big concern, Wiggins said, is mixing garbage in the recycling container.

“[It] causes contamination,” she said, “and ¦ it ends up going to a landfill anyway.”

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By PATRICK FOX
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Thursday, December 04, 2008

Gwinnett County is conceding there may be nothing it can do to stop waste collection companies from charging customers a deactivation fee when service ends Dec. 31.

County Administrator Jock Connell said attorneys have determined the two companies who have notified customers of these fees are probably within their rights.

Late last month, the county announced it would take action against Waste Industries and its $150,000 performance bond for allegedly violating the county’s solid waste ordinance. The action came after the company notified customers of a $23.50 fee for added costs for closing its operations.

Back in September, Allied Waste implemented the same fee.

Under the county’s licensing agreement with haulers, customers must be given a 30-day notice of a rate change.

“We regret the citizens find themslevs in this situation” Connell said, ” but the county’s position is it’s a private matter between the citizen and hauler. We really can’t get into giving advice on what they should do.”

Beginning Jan. 2, the county’s solid waste and recycling program will be administered by Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful. Its approximately 180,000 residences will be serviced by two haulers selected through a bidding process the agency administered.

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By MICHAEL PEARSON
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Monday, December 01, 2008

The first draft of Gwinnett County’s 2009 budget is out, and it shows county officials still have hard choices to make.

The proposal made public Monday includes a $43 million shortfall in the county’s primary operating fund, the general fund, a gap that could only be closed by cutting millions of dollars in spending, raising taxes, or depleting the county’s shrinking rainy day fund.

The $1.4 billion budget includes $919 million for operating costs and $503 million for building projects, roads and major equipment purchases. The operating fund would go up 6.3 percent over 2008, mostly to pay for more firefighters and police. The capital budget would go down 35 percent.

The proposal doesn’t make a recommendation on the property tax residents will pay in 2009. That comes in spring, during the annual effort to reassess taxable properties, acting finance director Maria Woods said.

If the County Commission were to approve the plan as is and without raising taxes, the rainy day fund would likely slip below the two months of operating expenses recommended by county policy, budget director Chad Teague said.

The county already expects to spend $45 million from that fund this year to cover increased expenses and costs for its new baseball stadium.

The proposed budget does not include savings from the announced elimination of 93 jobs last month or other cost-cutting moves being studied by a county task force. Those recommendations may not be complete before the budget’s Jan. 6 adoption.

The County Commission will hold a public hearing on the budget Dec. 11.

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99.4% of precincts reported.

Gwinnett County Voting Results:
United States Senator
S CHAMBLISS - (I)R – 105952 — 64.03%
JIM MARTIN - D — 59523 — 35.97%

Public Service Commission, District 4
LAUREN MCDONALD - R – 100618 — 63.39%
JIM POWELL - D — 58108 — 36.61%

Appeals Court Judge
SARA DOYLE — 68834 — 50.15%
MIKE SHEFFIELD — 68423 — 49.85%

Georgia Voting Results:
United States Senator
S CHAMBLISS - (I)R — 1,220,856 — 57.4%
JIM MARTIN - D — 905,637 — 42.6%

Public Service Commission, District 4
LAUREN MCDONALD - R — 1,129,698 — 56.5%
JIM POWELL - D — 870,195 — 43.5%

Appeals Court Judge
SARA DOYLE — 883,703 — 51.8%
MIKE SHEFFIELD — 823,462 — 48.2%

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