Gwinnett County, Cities Near an SDS Settlement

Updated Feb. 4, 2012

The multi-year Service Delivery Strategy (SDS) dispute between Gwinnett County and several cities in the Gwinnett Muncipal Association (GwMA) appears to be near an end.

Loganville City officials have scheduled a meeting for Tuesday, according to a legal notice in the Walton Tribune. Also, Suwanee expects to meet Tuesday on the matter.

The legal notice in the Walton Tribune read:

"The , Mayor and Council, will have a Called County meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2012 at 6 p.m. at City Hall. The purpose of this meeting is to approve the final SDS Agreement with Gwinnett County. All interested parties are invited to attend."

According to Loganville officials, the county is expected to meet at 5 p.m. to approve the agreement, the city at 6 p.m., and then officials from the city will travel to Gwinnett County later that evening to sign the agreement.

Suwanee City Manager Marty Allen, speaking by phone from Chattanooga, Tenn., where city officials are on a retreat, said the city expects to call a meeting for Tuesday on the matter. He said some matters technically are still pending.

Gwinnett County officials could not be reached for comment Friday. They have a normal business meeting scheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 7. However, a work session agenda posted on the county website makes no mention of the SDS situation.

Negotiations clearly had been progressing. .

The dispute dates to 2009, when the county sued the cities. The cities contend that they should not have to pay the county for services they do not use, such as police.

siding strongly with the cities. That ruling is under appeal, but settlement talks can continue during that process.

The disputed amount has been put in excess of $10 million. Also, notable fallout from the dispute is that police agencies in several Gwinnett cities and the Gwinnett County Police can't use radar or laser to track speeders.