A year after a special grand jury indicted a Gwinnett County commissioner and forced another to resign, county officials have addressed some of the problems that jurors said led to land deals that benefited well-connected developers at the expense of taxpayers.
On Tuesday the Board of Commissioners will consider a revised ethics policy. Last summer it approved new land-buying rules that supporters say will help prevent the kind of deals that spawned the grand jury investigation. And commissioners have taken several steps -- including a listening tour -- to shed more light on county government.
But other grand jury recommendations -- such as a proposed reorganization of county government -- have gone nowhere. And critics say Gwinnett officials haven’t done enough to restore trust in the wake of a scandal that has taken some of the shine off metro Atlanta’s second-largest county.
“I think most people expected a sea change as a result” of the grand jury report, said Sabrina Smith of Gwinnett Citizens for Responsible Government. “I am seeing a lot of business as usual.”
The shadow of questionable land deals has hung over Gwinnett since a 2009 Atlanta Journal-Constitution investigation highlighted questionable deals in which the county bought parkland based on inflated appraisals. In each case commissioners who championed the deals had ties to developers and others involved.
Gwinnett District Attorney Danny Porter convened a special grand jury that spent 10 months investigating five county land purchases. Its 58-page report -- released last Oct. 26 -- confirmed the newspaper’s findings.
Jurors found Gwinnett paid millions more for some properties than they were worth. They found overspending was a common practice. And they concluded that commissioners used some purchases to reward political allies and punish rivals.
One example: In 2006 a property owner offered to sell Gwinnett 67 acres on Peachtree Industrial Boulevard in Sugar Hill for $10.5 million -- less than the $10.9 million appraised value. But then-Commissioner Kevin Kenerly blocked the deal for seven months. The owner became frustrated and sold most of the land to a company owned by developers David Bowen, Thomas Michael Phelps Jr. and Eric Cape for about $10 million.
A day later, commissioners agreed to buy the property from the developers for about $14 million. Jurors concluded Gwinnett lost $3.4 million on the deal.
The grand jury charged Kenerly with bribery, alleging that he accepted or agreed to accept $1 million to arrange for the county to buy land to expand Rabbit Hill Park in Dacula. Details of the alleged bribe were not included in the jury’s report.
Kenerly has insisted he is innocent. Last summer he successfully appealed the charge, claiming the special grand jury did not have the power to indict him. Porter has appealed the issue to the Georgia Supreme Court, and a second grand jury has indicted Kenerly on the same charge.
Kenerly resigned from the commission in November. Commission Chairman Charles Bannister also resigned rather than face a perjury charge.
Bannister did not respond to a request for comment. Kenerly's attorney, Pat McDonough, said he hopes the Supreme Court upholds the finding that the special grand jury didn't have the authority to indict Kenerly.
"As we have been since the beginning, we are prepared to fight this case at every stage of the legal process and are confident [Kenerly] will be vindicated of these charges," McDonough said.
The grand jury report has reverberated through Gwinnett politics.
Former County Administrator Charlotte Nash won a March election to replace Bannister, vowing to restore trust in county government. Since the beginning of the year, commissioners have taken several steps to address concerns raised by the grand jury:
- In July commissioners approved new land-buying rules. Among other things, they prohibit Gwinnett from buying land to settle zoning lawsuits -- a problem cited in the AJC investigation -- and require employees to report any contact with someone advocating a land purchase.
- On Tuesday commissioners will consider an ethics ordinance that, among other things, would require people who spend money on commissioners to report the expenses.
- Commissioners have taken several steps to make county government more transparent. They launched a listening tour last winter, allowing Gwinnett residents to express concerns and ask questions. Last spring they moved a public hearing on the fate of Briscoe Field to a large church to accommodate some 800 people. And they recently began posting thick agenda packets with detail on every action item on the county's website.
Smith, a frequent critic of county government, credits Nash for trying to set a new course. But she thinks Gwinnett officials can do more.
“It’s very hard to restore trust,” Smith said. “It’s much easier to break that trust.”
Porter also expected the grand jury report to make more of an impression.
“The language that was used was pretty strong,” he said. “It just surprises me that, as elected officials, the commissioners have not been more responsive.”
One major recommendation of the grand jury -- a reorganization of the County Commission -- has gone nowhere.
The commission currently consists of a full-time chairman elected at-large and four part-time commissioners elected by district. A majority of jurors recommended making the district commissioners full time, allowing them more time to become informed and make better decisions on complex land deals and zoning matters. A minority favored keeping them part time but expanding the number of commissioners so each had a smaller workload.
A decision on that recommendation falls to the General Assembly. In February the Gwinnett delegation established a committee to review the County Charter, including the organization of the County Commission.
Rep. Tom Rice, R-Norcross, said legislators hoped to take up the issue this year, but action was postponed because redistricting issues consumed lawmakers’ time. Now the delegation plans to take up the charter review in next year’s session.
“We’re going to have to find out whether the people are really interested,” Rice said. “Nobody’s calling me demanding action on this.”
Nash said the County Commission has taken a “timeout” this year to consider the grand jury report. “There’s been more effort put into being open to the public about decision-making,” she said.
Commissioner Mike Beaudreau said the commission must keep working to regain the public’s trust.
“I still think it’s early on,” he said. “I think we have some more to prove in that regard.”
The story so far
Beginning in 2009, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported on a series of questionable Gwinnett County land deals. As a result of that investigation:
A special grand jury spent 10 months investigating Gwinnett land purchases. Jurors concluded county commissioners paid millions of dollars too much for land in deals that benefited associates at the expense of taxpayers.
The jury indicted then-Commissioner Kevin Kenerly on a felony count of bribery. The Georgia Court of Appeals has ruled the jury did not have the power to indict Kenerly. District Attorney Danny Porter has appealed the issue to the Georgia Supreme Court. Meanwhile, a second grand jury has indicted Kenerly on the same charges.
Commission Chairman Charles Bannister resigned rather than face a perjury charge from the grand jury.
In July Gwinnett commissioners approved new land-acquisition rules.
On Tuesday commissioners will consider a revised ethics ordinance.
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