I do not see how the county can legally do this as I think they are required to bid this out. I am looking for a minority trash hauler to let them know they were not given the opportunity to service Gwinnett.

I would encourage everyone who can attend the meeting next Tuesday night to do so and let the BOC know how you feel on their closed door deals that now involve more than lad deals.

Please look back at the lead article of the AJC the day the BOC announce the new trash plan, it was the illegal dumping problem that the city of Atlanta has and they have mandatory trash service. Oh, what was the BOC’s main reason why they know we need this, illegal dumping!

Let’s see we have no ost federal and state funding since the leaders or should I say children can not agree on shared services involving cities and the county.

I would like to point out that the $1.25 service feeill bring the county in 1.875 million in revenue. Now billing this on the tax bill should cost nothing for the mailing since they already need to send the tax bill out. What in the heck is the county going to use the rest of the money for?? Here is how I see it:

$100,000.00 per year for the Trash Zar
$400,000.00 for ten trash enforcement staff members
$300,000.00 for ten customer service reps to answer our complaint calls
$100,000.00 per year for office lease and utilities
$100,000.000 per year for vehicles to patrol
$225,000.00 for benefits

Total $1.225 million per year to operate this plan for us. What happens to the $600,000.00 left over????

Don

Gwinnett County officials received their first look a the Trash study done by RW Beck today.

The study results showed there was enough support to recommend required garbage collection at all residences. It did allow for exemptions, however, such as business owners with their own Dumpsters.

But there was a wide range of differences about other issues, such as establishing exclusive franchise districts and billing on property tax statements. Much of the polling data differed between those who attended the public forums and those who were randomly selected by computer.

More to come once the full study is released.

Also a great follow up article on this by Bob Griggs at TalkGwinnett.com:
First of Many Bad Land Deals Finally Exposed.

The next time you hear Chairman Bannister try to blame anyone but himself for the mess Gwinnett is in then please read this article. It highlights the true cause of the mess. Is this the only mess? I wish but deals and work like this highlight how bad it has gotten. From Land Deals, to Trash Plans to an unnecessary Stadiums its a wonder we have a county anymore.

Also after reading this article I have to ask those in District 1 what the heck were you thinking when you voted.

From the AJC article:

The purchase, made as the county faced a huge budget shortfall, is another in a string of land deals that have raised questions about the board’s financial stewardship and cozy relationships between some commissioners and developers.

In August, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution published stories detailing similar and questionable purchases the county has made, or attempted to make, since 2007.

After reviewing the AJC’s reports, District Attorney Danny Porter last week asked for a special grand jury to investigate those land deals and others by the Gwinnett Board of Commissioners. After hearing from the AJC about this purchase, Porter said he would review it for possible grand jury consideration.

Though Lasseter said she made the best decision she could, she acknowledges now that it might not have been the best use of taxpayer money.

“I’m not perfect. Maybe I made a bad decision,” she said. “Maybe we should have had Lorraine Green vote on it.”

You think?

The firm hired to draw up a study for Gwinnett County’s solid waste plan told officials Tuesday the report should be completed by mid-October.

So we have to wait until October to see what the consultants are going to recommend. I find it interesting it that it takes that long to compile feed back from 600+ people when the majority of those said they wanted their own choice. So who was one of the 328 that were contact by phone? Would love to hear from you.

At a special briefing held at the courthouse in Lawrenceville, Abby Goldsmith of the consulting firm R.W. Beck reported it had collected opinions from about 650 people. Of that number, 330 had registered opinions at one of the eight public forums held this summer. Another 328 had been contacted by phone or e-mail.

Gwinnett County commissioners approved a $131,000 study to redraw the county’s failed solid waste ordinance — a measure that generated a firestorm of protests and a rash of lawsuits last year.

The action follows a series of meetings held by a citizens panel to collect public input and make a proposal that would increase residential collection, encourage recycling and possibly reduce truck traffic in neighborhoods…

R.W. Beck is expected to make its recommendations based on a set of tasks:

• Review past, current and enjoined ordinances.

• Establish criteria based on counties with comparable populations and demographics.

• Conduct a series of public forums and surveys to gauge community priorities.

Gwinnett Commission Chairman Charles Bannister said the commission has not discussed the issue in detail, but he expects the board to focus on state mandates and the judge’s objections when a new ordinance is crafted.

Good thing they haven’t discussed it in detail especially since they think they need to spend 131k to make a plan.  Does that money come from the rainy day fund or petty cash?  Goes to show the MBSCT was nothing more than a pretty show.

AJC article by Patrick Fox: Gwinnett passes budget; expect to pay more taxes Beaudreau says deferments in his district might be political payback

I would like to suggest you go out to the county website and watch the meeting from yesterday that was taped. The budget was not passed with ease and the 4-1 vote was very interesting.  We have been critical of Commissioner Beaudreau but yesterday he at least tried to stand up and say the budget wasn’t right.

“It would have kept us solvent, and we would have had a balanced budget,” Beaudreau said. “It’s regrettable that politics got in the way.”

We just wish he had been able to come up with alternatives before the meeting so that MAYBE some of the other members the BOC would have listened. However that did not happen and Chairman Bannister distanced himself from Commissioner Beaudreau on the budget just like he had done already with the Trash Committee.

Commissioners did approve a call by Bannister to move capital projects, including the opening of a Grayson police precinct, into future years. Beaudreau said the moves seemed politically motivated since three of the five projects were in his southern Gwinnett district.

March Meetings: BOCbusiness030309

Being there and hearing the interaction of a few was very educational as far as this group goes.  To me where the meeting got interesting was in the “closed” session that occurred after the “open” public session. There were 4 important things that stood out to me in this discussion.

1. The majority of the MBSCT want each of us to have mandatory pickup with limited exceptions. The exceptions would have to be defined and I guess you would have to have a written note from someone somewhere to qualify for it otherwise you have to pay for the trash service
2. The majority of the MBSCT are in favor of moving haulers into districts and allowing them to bid on the districts. IE: There would be 8 districts and a hauler could bid on one or more of these districts. This would allow for “one hauler one neighborhood” thus allowing for less traffic on the street. One thing I did not understand is how this allows for residents to choose. Does this allow for the pricing to be set in the bids through the county instead of through the residents themselves?
3. The majority of the MBSCT agree we need more recycling but the question I have is how do you encourage it. One of the haulers mentioned they are partnered with RecycleBank but have not implemented the program due to the uncertainty of the the current situation.
4. The majority of the MBSCT believe the only way to make sure that all of us residents are toeing the line is to put the trash bill on our tax bill.

One other thing that was mentioned by the Committee Chairman was that he hoped that the documents the members were passing around via email would not end up on websites like this one.  As you can see we do not have any of the documents but we hope those documents would be released for review in due course.   Even though they are not elected officials it would seem to me that if the goal of this committee in the beginning was to be an open and citizen driven group that they would not care if other citizens saw the documents as well.

GDP article by Jamie Ward: Solid waste plan: Recycler gives input at meeting
Committee to give commissioner recommendations by March 17

AJC article by Patrick Fox: Garbage panel recommends mandatory pick-up

The committee’s draft, finalized after two hours of public comment at the Gwinnett Justice and Administration Center in Lawrenceville, calls for establishing exclusive service zones for waste haulers. The panel was divided over whether to allow more than one hauler per zone, but it did suggest that such a program would need to be phased in over time.

The panel leaned heavily in favor of mandatory trash service for all residential properties, although it provided for exceptions, such as business owners with trash service at work and property owners who can prove a residence is unoccupied.

Members were close to unanimous in advocating increased recycling options and establishing some authority to monitor customer complaints.

AJC Article by Patrick Fox: Gwinnett denies it’s obligated to pay failed garbage contract

Gwinnett County Website: Budget Summary

Gwinnett County Website: Budget Snapshot

Gwinnett County Website: Budget Comparison

How is the County going to make up a $62 million shortfall?  Through property taxes. That’s right folks watch your millage rate go up. No using of the Rainy Day fund here. Can you imagine how bad it will have to be raining to use the Rainy Day Fund if we are not in a downpour now?

While more safety officers whether Police or Fire is a good thing and goodness knows they deserve every penny they get it is hard for me to believe the county is really going to hide tax increases behind the need to hire more safety officers.

From the GDP Article

and officials said they are hoping for $65 million in additional revenues to make up the difference.

“We almost balanced the budget, and then the revenue projections came in,” Deputy County Administrator Mike Comer said. “The costs started going up at that point.”

Comer said the amount of a tax increase could become more clear in June, when officials are expected to have a clearer picture of the county tax digest, which could drop because of a decrease in real estate values.

Hoping? Hoping? Really? Start looking at things the county is spending their money on in the past year. From the failed trash plan to a baseball stadium and you see why they are hoping.  We can all look forward to paying our share of this.  So the people who own property will be the ones penalized.

From the AJC Article

Despite additional cuts made to the original budget proposed in December, the county is facing a revenue shortfall of about $62 million, said Jock Connell, county administrator. Without an economic turnaround, he said he didn’t see any way to avoid raising the millage rate on property.

AJC Article by Patrick Fox: Gwinnett’s $1.6B budget includes 136 new positions

WSB Article by Jon Lewis: Gwinnett Tax Increase Possible

GDP Article by Camie Young: Taxes may be raised