Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners Chairwoman Charlotte Nash has spent her first seven weeks in office studying a host of local and regional issues. Next week, she’ll tell the public some of what she’s learned.
Nash will deliver a “state of the county” address to the Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce and the Council for Quality Growth on Wednesday. In an interview Friday, she said she’ll focus on the positive but also speak realistically about the challenges facing Gwinnett.
Among them: the difficulty of balancing the county budget as property tax revenue continues to decline in the wake of the Great Recession.
“The way I see it, we’ve got to prepare for the worst and hope it’s better than that,” Nash said.
Earlier this year, commissioners eliminated an $18 million deficit through a combination of spending cuts, fee increases and other measures. But with revenue still declining, county officials plan more budget adjustments as soon as next week.
Despite the budget challenges, Nash said she has not changed her mind about a campaign pledge not to raise property taxes this year or next.
“Our taxpayers are hurting, too,” she said. “We’ve got to be more cognizant of that.”
Nash won her job in a March special election. She’s finishing the unexpired term of former Chairman Charles Bannister, who resigned last October amid a growing scandal about questionable county land deals.
That scandal has shaped Nash’s early agenda. She’s speaking with fellow commissioners about revising Gwinnett’s ethics ordinance and its procedures for buying land. She hopes to bring specific proposals to a vote in the next 60 to 90 days.
Nash also has been talking to officials from Gwinnett cities about settling long-standing litigation over which jurisdictions provide key services. And she’s been involved in regional discussions about next year’s transportation sales tax referendum and the role of the Atlanta Regional Commission.
Next week’s state-of-the-county speech will give Nash a chance to set a new tone in a county that for months has been beset by the land-deal scandal and by controversies like whether to sell or lease the county airport.
Despite its challenges, Nash said Gwinnett remains a good place to live and do business.
“No matter how difficult things feel to us in Gwinnett County, I know we’re fortunate to be here,” she said.
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