GDP Article by Camie Young: Public members chosen for budget study

10 citizen members (and 12 alternates) of an eventual 42 total members of a group that will study the Gwinnett County budget were chosen last night. The remaining 32 members will come from other segments of Gwinnett County.  They will provide feedback and recommendations to the BOC on budget matters.   The group called Engage Gwinnett will be led by Bill McCargo and Mike Levengood.

The committee will begin meeting Oct. 8 and will meet every other week through March. Two more public meetings are planned – one for the mid-point of the study and one for near the end.

Each of the sessions will be televised on the county government cable channel, and residents can also receive information at www.engagegwinnett.com.

In addition to the member selection, nearly 150 people provided feedback and suggestions on how to conduct the study, which Chairman Charles Bannister called for after a public outcry over a proposed tax increase, which was defeated, then a public outcry over cuts in services.

“This is a very complex situation we are dealing with,” McCargo said. When we have financial issues, we have to make tough choices. … It’s not easy to take a look at a government the size of ours. … We need to be able to determine what are our needs as a community and what are our wants.”