Gwinnett County would use property tax revenue originally earmarked for library and road improvements to help balance its operating budget under a proposal to be considered by the Board of Commissioners Tuesday.
The county also would require its 4,600 employees to take four unpaid holidays this year, eliminate at least seven vacant positions and cut other spending as it tries to eliminate an $18 million deficit in its general fund budget.
If the commission approves the budget measures Tuesday, that deficit would be reduced to $2.6 million. County officials have pledged to eliminate it altogether by the end of March.
The proposals to be considered next week are Gwinnett’s latest attempt to address declining property tax and other revenue brought on by the Great Recession.
Other counties also have struggled to balance their budgets. Cobb County last September reduced library hours, cut bus service and left 70 vacant positions unfunded.
This week the DeKalb County Commission voted to cut $33.6 million from their 2011 budget. That’s the equivalent of about 800 staff jobs, though commissioners insist there is fat to be trimmed before the staff is reduced.
Gwinnett’s latest batch of budget-balancing proposals include shifting a portion of its property levy from debt reduction to operations.
In 1986 county voters approved general obligation bonds for library and road construction. In 2009 and 2010 the county levied a .23 mill property tax to pay those bonds.
The county recently used part of the proceeds from a December 2009 property tax increase to pay off the bonds.
With the bonds paid off, the county staff has recommended using the .23 mills levy for the general fund, which pays for police and fire protection and other basic services. That would give the general fund an extra $4.8 million in revenue this year.
County officials say the move does not constitute a tax increase; the total county tax rate would remain 13.25 mills.
But if the .23 mill levy were allowed to expire as scheduled next year, the property tax bill on a $200,000 house would fall by about $16.
“I am 100 percent opposed to this,” said Sabrina Smith of Gwinnett Citizens for Responsible Government. “It is business as usual at the Board of Commissioners.”
Tuesday’s vote would signal the commission’s intent to use the .23 mills for general fund expenses. But another vote would be required this summer or fall.
Also on Tuesday, the commission will consider proposals to:
*Require county employees to take unpaid furlough days for Independence Day, Labor Day, the Friday after Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve. The proposal would save Gwinnett about $2.8 million, including $2.1 million in the general fund.
County Administrator Glenn Stephens told county employees in a memo Thursday that “using the holidays as furloughs provides a cost cutting measure that will have the least impact on the services we provide to our citizens while preserving the jobs needed to provide those services.”
*Eliminate at least seven vacant positions, cut part-time salaries in the police department, eliminate the advertising budget for employee recruitment and make other cuts to various departments. The cuts would save the county about $1.4 million, including $847,000 in the general fund.
*Reduce general fund contributions to risk management, workers compensation and fleet equipment funds. The move would save about $5 million, including $4 million in the general fund.
“The items up for consideration by the board next Tuesday will make a significant dent in our budget shortfall this year, and yet the changes themselves will have minimal impact on the level of service we provide to our citizens,” commission Vice Chairwoman Shirley Lasseter said in a statement announcing the moves.
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