Politics & Government

Gwinnett BOC Hopeful Wants To Examine Airport Privatization

Commissioners to hold Q&A on Tuesday with airport consultant.

Updated 1:43 p.m., Sept. 20, 2011

Announcing plans to run for the Gwinnett Board of Commissioners also means joining the discussion over possible privatization of county-owned Briscoe Field in Lawrenceville.

Suwanee City Council member Jace Brooks said Friday that he agrees with the current commissioners' decision to go forward and look at proposals. He added that the BOC should examine the "facts and figures and look at where that leads us. We need to look at any opportunity to broaden the tax base and broaden private sector jobs.

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"That has to be balanced with protecting and enhancing the quality of life."

Brooks, also Suwanee's mayor pro tem, announced Friday that he will run for the District 1 seat on the Gwinnett Board of Commissioners in 2012. That seat currently is held by Shirley Lasseter of Duluth.

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The next development comes Tuesday, Sept. 20, when Gwinnett commissioners meet with an airport consultant for a briefing that will follow their regular work session.Β TheΒ question and answer session will begin at 10:30 a.m. in the Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners conference room, 75 Langley Drive in Lawrenceville. The meeting is open to the public.

The meeting with IMG, chosen because of its expertise in airport operations, comes after more than a year of discord on the issue of privatization.

Commissioner Lynette Howard, who voted to move forward and called for the meeting, said she still has questions about the feasibility of the proposals.

"I want to find out more about the facts behind it so I can make a good decision. We need to have a credible source of information," Howard said in the Gwinnett Daily Post; she added that she wants the group's opinion on putting together an advisory board of residents as well as the financial possibilities in the different options.

"After they hear what commissioners say on Tuesday, (IMG) will know how to finish up," a request for proposals, she said. "The decision has been made but there is fine-tuning to it."

Privatization would open the door to flight schools and small aircraft, and possibly large commercial jets.

Regarding Brooks' comments about private-sector jobs and the tax base, Gwinnett County's tax digest has been falling in recent years. Commissioners currently are facing a $30 million revenue shortfall as they prepare the 2012 budget.

By contrast, Suwanee has held up well in the recession. The city recently lowered its millage (tax) rate for the second straight year and has an unemployment rate of about 4 percent.

For a county fact sheet about potential airport privatization, click here.


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