Economy forcing Gwinnett County to rethink future

By Patrick Fox

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Residents heard a mid-year state of Gwinnett County from its chief executive Wednesday, and the news was sobering.

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Jason Getz, AJC When Gwinnett Arena opened six years ago, Gwinnett was a booming county.

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After detailing the gloss and glory of past accomplishments, county commission Chairman Charles Bannister told a luncheon crowd at the Gwinnett Center that plans for the future are in for a major overhaul. Gwinnett’s trajectory has to shift in the face of budget shortfalls and mandates against property tax increases, he said.

Some main points from the speech:

The issues

● Population growth has begun to slow — even as the public need for county services has continued to grow and become more complex.

● Because of the economic downturn, the property tax digest that had been growing for years dropped by $1 billion in 2009 from the 2008 value.

● While this was happening, county officials received little public feedback in the budget process until an increase in the mill levy was proposed.

Bannister’s proposals

● The budget needs to be rethought. In 2009, the county has cut $81 million from the budget. Another $60 million must be cut from anticipated 2010 expenditures before that budget can be adopted. By the end of the year, the county will eliminate more than 250 positions.

● The county needs to get the word out. “The issues are so big and complicated and important that you need to try to engage the community ... so you can make sure that everybody has their say and that the problems are fully discussed and understood.”

● The community needs to cooperate and decide what kind of future it wants for the county.

What’s happening already

Partnering with the Chamber of Commerce, Gwinnett County has formed a citizens’ advisory committee to review the budget process and draw up recommendations on spending, revenues and staffing. The panel has 42 members — 32 from stakeholder groups, such as business, homeowners associations, education and different ethnic groups, and another 10 chosen by residents at large.

The group, called Engage Gwinnett, will meet every other week during the next six months and will draw up a proposal in March.

But Bannister said he hopes to get a preliminary recommendation from the panel in February, in time to influence final decisions on the 2010 budget.

Quote

“We’re on the verge of cutting into bone and crippling our ability to provide the core services our citizens need and deserve.”

— Charles Bannister, Gwinnett County Commission chairman