Rick Badie's Gwinnett: Grand jury findings add insult to injury
If you like to read, you might want to check out the grand jury’s report into land acquisitions by the Gwinnett County Commission.
From what I read in the report released Tuesday, this bunch has about as much business being public servants as my 8-year-old daughter. Olivia might do better.
Apparently our illustrious commissioners suffer from memory loss, ineptness and poor record keeping. They seem to possess a cavalier attitude about spending taxpayer money and dislike being queried about it.
The one exception, as it relates to the grand jury inquiry, was former Commissioner Lorraine Greene. The grand jury in its 58-page report commended her willingness on numerous occasions to appear before the body. The panel praised her for showing up prepared and knowledgeable about the community.
As for the sitting commissioners, well, this grand jury didn’t mince words. The report praised a juror who had to excuse himself, and in the same breath wrote:
“It is unfortunate that the individually-elected county commissioners did not take our task as seriously. In fact, one was heard to say in the grand jury waiting room that we were a “pain in the [expletive].”
On this serious matter, the report states that every sitting commissioner testified that he or she had not reviewed any of the readily available documents prior to an appearance before the grand jury. They refused to prepare in the most basic, general way. How unacceptable.
And insulting.
It’s an insult to the panel that took its work seriously. It shows disrespect and disdain for taxpayers who footed the bill for five land purchases made without even a cursory adherence to standard practices.
Under the current system, overpriced tracts benefit friends. Developers who own large land tracts they want to sell to the county apparently have more say and sway than staff and department heads. They can put the purchase wheels in motion by simply contacting a commissioner and saying: “Hey, I got some land I want to sell and I think the county could use it.”
And if you don’t have a problem with that, consider this:
“On numerous occasions, department heads testified that they were not asked to offer an opinion about a particular land transaction,” the grand jury report states.
Under the current system, taxpayer dollars are used to buy property simply to settle zoning lawsuits filed by ticked-off developers. The report states that the law department prevails in most zoning lawsuits; however, commissioners Kevin Kenerly, Bert Nasuti and Michael Beaudreau testified that lawyers seldom won such lawsuits so settlement was the best option. Who to believe?
The grand jury concluded that the entire land acquisition process needs to be restructured to increase accountability. It needs a set system of policies and procedures.
“In many ways, Gwinnett County is still a great place to live, work and raise our children,” the report states, “but in order to remain great, changes must be made.”
I’d say.
Rick Badie, an Opinion columnist, is based in Gwinnett. Reach him at rbadie@ajc.com or 770-263-3875.
