Instead of Gwinnett city leaders spending or hoarding their share of a $32 million settlement with the county, some city residents are insisting they send it back to whom they say are the rightful owners: taxpayers.
Georgia's second-largest county has begun paying its 15 cities back for essentially charging them for services the cities already provided. Residents and watchdogs in Gwinnett say the money is theirs because they were "double taxed" for those services. But some of the cities want to use the money to prop up their budgets, restart stalled projects or pay legal fees.
“It’s kind of a blatant pickpocket,” said Eric Gill, a Suwanee resident. “I think it’s unethical.”
This sort of funding tension is nothing new for metro Atlanta. Decades of financial hostility between Fulton County and its northside residents over perceived service inequities gave birth to incorporation movements for Sandy Springs, Milton and Johns Creek.
Cobb County could face similar challenges when its service agreement expires in 2013.
City leaders in Gwinnett said those funds will allow them to resume projects that were delayed or even abandoned in recent years because of the recession and the unpopularity of tax increases.
The cities have elected to treat the funds as a one-time revenue boost. Suwanee and Lilburn plan to use their settlements for long-term capital projects. Dacula and Berkeley Lake are going to reimburse themselves for legal expenses. Most other cities will put their returns in general funds and come up with a specific plan later.
"I really object to the fact that they’re going to spend it again instead of giving it back," said Jimmy Spiro, a Suwanee resident. "I just don’t think it’s morally right to take our tax money and hold on to it."
Residents are mistaken if they don't think the money is coming back to them, Norcross Mayor Bucky Johnson said. "They will get all of that money, one way or the other."
The Georgia Municipal Association said there is no legal mechanism available for the state's municipalities to refund their residents. Essentially, the agency said, cities are not permitted to cut checks to their citizens.
Gwinnett and its cities argued for years about who provides and pays for a host of services. The issues were complicated by the number of jurisdictions and variety of services involved: nine cities, for example, have their own police departments, while six contract with the county for police protection.
For years such services were the subject of detailed agreements between the county and its cities. When those deals expired about three years ago, negotiations and mediation between the parties stalled and the dispute wound up in court.
Last September, Enotah Judicial Circuit Court Judge David Barrett ruled city residents didn't have to pay for services that primarily benefit residents of unincorporated Gwinnett. Then in February, county and city officials approved the settlement, which will require Gwinnett to stop charging city residents property taxes and other fees and taxes for services they already get from cities.
As part of the $32 million settlement, the county will distribute about $10 million in one-time lump payments to its 15 cities in 2012. The county also will pay about $3.1 million a year for seven years to police cities, beginning this year.
The Suwanee City Council has decided to put its nearly $2.2 million payment in 2012 into the city's general fund, with an eye on using the funds for capital projects. The city has not yet identified a specific project for the money.
City leaders also point out they've proposed a millage rate reduction of .72 mills for 2013, a steep cut in a time of sagging property values and diminished tax revenues.
"We’ve always felt like this is the citizens' money," Suwanee council member Jace Brooks said. "Going forward, it's likely that the taxpayers will see a reduction in their millage rate going forward as well."
Berkeley Lake, which received $53,346 from the county, will pay off attorney's fees used to fight the lawsuit. Dacula will use its $67,643 for legal expenses and put the rest in general funds "to reduce the will reduce the need for increasing the millage rate," Mayor Jimmy Wilbanks said in an e-mail. Snellville Mayor Pro Tem Tom Witts said the council there hasn't decided what to do with its nearly $1.7 million settlement but he'd support more money for the city's Town Center project.
In Duluth, which received a county-high $2.86 million in 2012, city officials plan to take care of needs that weren't met in previous years because of budget cuts: a new weather siren, an improved city website, and mowing equipment, among other items.
"We wanted to do some of those things that had been deferred and couldn’t be deferred any more," Duluth City Manager Tim Shearer said. Shearer wouldn't commit to a millage rate reduction.
But watchdogs and anti-tax activists like Steve Ramey, who lives in unincorporated Gwinnett, said city officials should go much further in trying to refund citizens who were "double-taxed." Ramey said, at a minimum, each city should have proposed a much lower millage rate.
"The problem with politicians is once they get their hands on money, it's hard to get it back," said Ramey, a member of the Founding Fathers Tea Party Patriots.
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Cities SDS payment in 2012
Duluth $2.6 million
Lawrenceville $2.5 million
Suwanee $2.1 million
Norcross $1.7 million
Snellville $1.6 million
Lilburn $609,940
Braselton $394,146
Buford $283,783
Sugar Hill $270,787
Loganville $165,323
Dacula $67,643
Berkeley Lake $53,346
Grayson $53,231
Auburn $5,248
Rest Haven $1,399
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