Monday, December 10, 2012
The purpose is to allow public comment on the proposed 2013 budget. No vote will be taken.
- GOVERNMENT
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Monday, December 10, 2012
The Gwinnett Board of Commissioners will hold a special called meeting Monday, December 10, at 7 p.m. to allow public comment on the proposed 2013 budget. The planned $1.3 billion budget, a reduction from the 2012 spending plan, was rolled out in November. However, no formal vote on the 2013 budget is planned before January. Monday's meeting will be at the Gwinnett Justice and Administration Center, 75 Langley Drive in Lawrenceville. The 2013 budget is the first full county budget document since the Service Delivery Strategy (SDS0 settlement was reached in February 2012 between the county and cities in the Gwinnett Municipal Association. That settlement, among other things, mandated certain payments from the county to the cities and called…
Friday, March 2, 2012
Authorities give the OK Friday, however Suwanee Police had not resumed using the devices as of Saturday.
Updated 11:10 a.m., March 3, 2012 Police in Suwanee are closer to using radar to track speeders, it was announced Friday. The state Department of Community Affairs announced, "All sanctions imposed by the court are immediately lifted." However, as of Saturday morning, Suwanee officers still had not been told they can use radar, a spokesperson said. Notice still must be relayed to police by the Georgia State Patrol, which was prepared for Friday's announcement, according to Randy Meacham, executive director of the GwMA. Also, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that Gwinnett Police, which patrols the unincorporated areas of Suwanee and Gwinnett, have had their radar use restored. The main obstacle was lifted in February when cities in…
Thursday, March 1, 2012
The resumption of the technology still is held up by bureaucracy.
- POLICE & FIRE
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Thursday, March 1, 2012
Updated 10:25 a.m., March 1 Suwanee Police thought they might be able to resume using radar and laser to track speeders on March 1, but it has not come to pass. Police Chief Mike Jones said Tuesday that the necessary permission still has not been granted by the state Department of Community Affairs, so there still is no end to the situation that began on Jan. 1, 2011. The situation seemed resolved when Gwinnett County leaders and cities in the Gwinnett Municipal Association reached a deal to settle the Service Delivery Strategy (SDS) dispute, which led to the sanction against the police. That deal, reached in February, also was accepted by the presiding judge in the multi-year dispute. Suwanee Police have filed necessary paperwork with …
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Permission has yet to come from state authorities, but could be granted by March 1, spokesperson says.
Suwanee Police still are not able to use radar or laser to track speeders in the city limits, but that ability may not be far off. Police spokesperson Clyde Byers said Tuesday that the department's understanding from state authorities is that the permission "probably" would return March 1. This agency and several others in Gwinnett County have been unable to use radar or laser to track speeders since Jan. 1, 2011, because of sanctions arising from the Service Delivery Strategy (SDS) dispute between Gwinnett County and cities in the Gwinnett Municipal Association. Though SDS has been settled and judicial approval granted, ending the sanctions still is a matter of paperwork between the cities and state authorities. Snellville Police already …
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Payments are in annual and one-time forms. The new deal also creates Special Service Districts for various functions.
The talk was of compromise Tuesday from both Gwinnett County and various city officials when an agreement was announced to end the Service Delivery Strategy (SDS) dispute that began in 2009. But you probably won't see any of the 15 cities in the agreement turning down any of the money coming their way. An estimated $28 million will be going from Gwinnett funds to the cities over a matter of years as a result of the agreement that was accepted Tuesday. Formal approval also must be granted by Judge David Barrett of Blairsville, who presided over the legal matter and handed down a ruling in September that strongly favored the cities. But Tuesday's deal was crafted with the idea of making the judge's decision easy. The issue was double …
Monday, February 6, 2012
A joint city-county ceremony was held Tuesday evening in Lawrenceville.
Updated Feb. 8, 2012 Suwanee, Loganville, Lilburn, Norcross and Dacula added their approvals Tuesday evening to the Service Delivery Strategy agreement. Earlier Tuesday, the Gwinnett County Board Of Commissioners approved the deal with cities in the Gwinnett Municipal Association (GwMA), doing their part to end a multimillion-dollar dispute that began in 2009. Showing the fluidity of the situation, the agenda item on the SDS matter was added by the BOC after its afternoon meeting began. "This is still active litigation," noted BOC Chairman Charlotte Nash after the commissioners' approval. However, terms of the settlement strongly favor the cities, and are in the $20 million range. For instance, some terms call for Gwinnett to make a $5.1 …
Friday, February 3, 2012
Loganville calls a meeting for Tuesday. The agenda for the Gwinnett BOC work session Tuesday makes no mention of SDS.
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 City of Loganville, 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 …
Monday, December 19, 2011
Conference call Monday is the latest development in the continuing legal dispute.
The lingering Service Delivery Strategy (SDS) situation between Gwinnett County and many of its cities continues, with cities in the Gwinnett Municipal Association holding a conference call Monday on the matter. Randy Meacham, executive director of the Gwinnett Municipal Association, said Monday afternoon that cities in the GwMA held a conference call earlier in the day about the SDS issue. Gwinnett County officials were not involved in the call, Meacham said. However, settlement talks between the GwMA and Gwinnett County have continued since a court ruling in September was issued strongly favoring the cities. A settlement offer apparently is not on the table, as Meacham said Monday's conference call concerned what the cities might be …
Monday, September 26, 2011
Issued Friday, the order is now being reviewed by county and Gwinnett Municipal Association officials.
Updated 5:45 p.m., Sept. 26, 2011 The lengthy Service Delivery Strategy dispute between Gwinnett County and the cities in the Gwinnett Municipal Association has been resolved, apparently in favor of the cities. The GwMA is reviewing the judge's 58-page ruling that was issued Friday, Sept. 23, and will release details later. However, an initial review of Judge David Barrett's order appears to favor the cities, saying that the county can't tax residents whose cities decide not to accept and jointly fund an SDS service. "The County is without authority to levy taxes, assessments or fees on municipal residents, individuals, or property owners whose municipality decides not to accept and jointly-fund a SDS Service," Barrett's order read. Also, …
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Suwanee and other Gwinnett cities to reopen talks with county in double-taxation matter.
A July 7 meeting will be the first time that Suwanee and other Gwinnett cities meet with new County Commission Chair Charlotte Nash as a group about the unresolved Service Delivery Strategy dispute. The topic is on the executive session agenda at the Intergovernmental Meeting of the Gwinnett Municipal Association. “I think there’s a new tone,” said Norcross Mayor Bucky Johnson, who has been the lead in negotiations with the county about the dispute, which has gotten more attention since municipalities were unable to renew some contracts at the beginning of the year. “There was, to some degree, a distrust before,” he added. The dispute stems from the roughly 150,000 city residents who pay for county services that they do not receive. The …
Steve Burns
2:28 pm on Thursday, March 1, 2012
Technically, their term is "officer observation." They can visually time cars based on nearby landmarks, surrounding traffic. Remember, they did not always have radar. more ›