Four candidates running for Gwinnett County’s top elected position on Tuesday pledged to comb the county budget for savings as Gwinnett confronts a fiscal crisis brought on by the Great Recession.
Speaking at the Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce, the candidates said they would preserve core services, among them public safety, utilities and transportation, but indicated other services -- such as parks and libraries -- may suffer.
Tuesday’s chamber appearance was the fifth and final scheduled forum for the four candidates seeking to become chairman of the Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners.
Will Costa of Lilburn, Larry Gause of Tucker, Gerald Duane Kissel of Snellville and Charlotte Nash of Dacula will compete in a March 15 special election. The winner will fill the remaining two years vacated by Charles Bannister, who resigned the post in October.
The county budget has been a persistent theme at the candidate forums. Despite spending cuts and an unpopular tax increase in recent years, Gwinnett County began the year with an $18 million deficit in its $448.6 million general fund budget, which pays for public safety and other basic services.
In recent weeks the County Commission has whittled the deficit to $2.6 million through various spending cuts and revenue increases. It plans to close the remaining gap by the end of the month.
But the county’s budget troubles aren’t over. At Tuesday’s forum Nash noted the county’s tax digest -- and the property tax revenue it generates -- is projected to decline again this year. That likely will mean more cuts as the county prepares its 2012 budget.
If elected, Nash said she would scrutinize construction projects, vehicle purchases and other spending, and poll the public to determine its priorities. She said the county should act this year to address next year’s budget.
“We can’t just fix 2011’s budget,” she said.
Gause said he would consider cutting spending on everything except public safety. He said he would go through every department’s budget line by line.
“We need to reduce the size of government,” Gause said. “We need to cut our spending and get our budget under control.”
Costa said he would sit down with department heads and senior managers to have them justify and explain their jobs. He said that process could show whether the county is wasting money on projects that are no longer necessary.
“We’ve had a county [government] that’s gone through rapid growth,” he said. “Ten years ago we added a lot of personnel for tasks the county took on. Now the surplus money is gone.”
Kissel said he would examine the budget on a “needs and wants” basis. He said services such as police, fire protection, utilities and roads are “needs.” He said other services are “wants.”
“I am absolutely for our parks, recreation and libraries,” Kissel said. “But, folks, those things are wants. They’re not absolutely necessary right now.”
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