When she took the oath of office a year ago this week, Gwinnett County Commission Chairwoman Charlotte Nash inherited the top political job in a county burdened by a host of troubles.
Her predecessor, Charles Bannister, resigned rather than face a perjury indictment stemming from a grand jury investigation of dubious land deals. Public trust in county government waned. Gwinnett was at war with its own cities over who provides and pays for a list of public services. And the county faced the toughest government fiscal environment in decades.
A year later Gwinnett is on a better footing. Under Nash’s leadership, the commission approved new ethics and land-buying rules designed to regain public trust. It settled the long-standing lawsuit against its cities over public services. And it passed a balanced 2012 budget with no tax increase.
One measure of Nash’s accomplishments: So far no one has stepped forward to challenge her as she faces re-election to a full four-year term.
But challenges -- including continuing budget difficulties and the lingering debate over commercial passenger service at the county airport -- remain. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution sat down with Nash this week to talk about her first year in office and her plans for the future. Below is an edited transcript of that conversation.
Q: You took office pledging to restore public trust. What kind of progress have you made?
A: I think that we have made progress. However, trust is something that, you don't just get it one time and you have it forever more. It's a constant process. We know we have to keep working at it every day.
Q: What have been the commission’s top accomplishments over the last year?
A: Balancing the budget for 2011 without a tax increase, a little tax decrease, in fact. Balancing the 2012 budget without a tax increase. Settlement of (the lawsuit against the cities). Passage of a tough land-acquisition policy. And passage of the stronger ethics policy.
Q: One high-profile issue that remains unresolved is whether to allow commercial passenger flights at Briscoe Field. How would you like to see that issue resolved?
A: I've made no secret of the fact that I'm opposed to commercial service at Briscoe Field. I believe the site is too small to adequately accommodate that type of service. I recognize the fact that each (commissioner) has a say in that. I hope we can continue to keep the discussion among the commissioners at a civil level.
Q: Do you think commercial passenger flights will ever make sense at Briscoe Field?
A: It's the site. It's 502 acres. It's hemmed in by (state highway) 316 and the railroad. It's the development of the area over the past 20 years. It's the proximity to Lawrenceville. I just find it hard to envision a way to put commercial passenger service into that airport without having impacts on the surrounding areas.
Q: Any plans for major initiatives in coming months or if you’re re-elected?
A: Finances are going to continue to be a challenge. We don't see anything that indicates we'll see a recovery quickly. Also, next year the county's special purpose local option sales tax (which pays for public construction projects) will be up for renewal. There will be time and energy devoted to framing up what will be proposed to be done with that money. That requires cooperation among the cities and the county to put together the project list for that.
Q: What keeps you awake at night?
A: The finances and the declining tax digest. That’s our biggest challenge. Part of it’s the uncertainty now about how long is it going to continue and how much farther is it to the bottom. If we knew it’s going to be 10 percent more and it’s going to bottom out, at least there would be certainty and know what our target (for property tax revenue) had to be.
Q: What gives you hope for the future?
A: I've actually been hearing some glimmers from folks in the business community. We're continuing to do well with holding on to companies and luring other folks here. Primerica decided to keep their headquarters in Gwinnett County. I noticed today the report on metro Atlanta unemployment rates. Gwinnett still had the best unemployment rate. Who would have ever thought we'd be bragging about 8 percent? But it's better than 8.4 or 8.7.
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